
Class 
Book 



Knox College 

QALESBURa. Illinois 



ilarch 17,1917 



Dr.George V.Kunz, 
401 Fifth Avenue, 
New York City, 

Ky dear ir.Kunz,- 

You were oist coroial to tae 

vnieri in licw York and I wisJi to a;2ain thank you 

for your courtesy. 

I was delighted to see youv inter- 
est ill Knox Collejje- p.n institution for v/hich x 
have a real affection- snd I am venturing to send 
you with the compliments of the college a copy of 
a Siuall oook issued a few years ago at the time of 
the celebratio i of oui^ 75th Anniversary. 

If you hHve the time to look it 
over I feel sure you \vill be interest'^d in tne 
unusual story of l;ie foundin/^ of Mnox and in the 
development of a typical Vvesterri college, 

Yfith cordial ,;;ood wishes, I am, 
Sincerely yours, 







SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



THE STORY OF 
KNOX COLLEGE 



1837-1912 



By 

Martha Farnham Webster 



GALESBURG, ILL.: 
Wagoner Printing Company 

1912 






33 



^ 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Chapter Page 

I. A Man with an Idea 1 

II. The Idea Takes Form 9 

III. The Lure of the Prairies 14 

IV. The Idea Develops into a College 21 

V. Hitherward by Land 23 

VI. Hitherward by Water 31 

VII. Log City , , , , 38 

VIII. The First Founders' Day 43 

IX. Women of the Colony 51 

X. How Knox College Grew 60 

XI. Troublous Times 69 

XII Reconstruction in Knox College 82 

XIII. The Semi-Centenntal Jubilee 87 

XIV. New Undertakings and Notable Occasions 94 

XV. The Ingathering . 105 

XVI. Our Assets , . 116 

Sixty-seventh Annual Commencement and Seventy-fifth 

Anniversary 129 

The Program 130 

Committees 137 

Baccalaureate Sermon 138 

Class Day Program 150 

Commencement Concert 151 

Class Play 152 

Address before the Alumni 153 

Poem — "The Pioneers" 175 

Commencement Program 177 

Commemoration Exercises 179 

Address by President Finley 180 

Address by President Blanchard 183 

Official Letter — Prof. F. S. Hoffman 186 

Letter from the White House 190 

The Pageant , 191 

Alumni Dinner — Program of Toasts 199 

List of Former Students in Attendance ...... 201 

iii 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Opfositk Page 

Academy, The Old 48 

Alumni Hall 145. 164 

Beecher Chapel 198 

Blanchard, Residence of President 70 

Campus, View on rear 165 

Central College, 1857 69 

Central Congregational Church.... 

107, 177 

Conservatory Recital, A 85 

East College ("East Bricks") 70 

Faculty in 1888, The Knox 87, 90 

First Church, The G4 

Galesburg High School 147 

George Davis Science Hall 

158, 159, 199 

Gymnasium, The 192 

Knox Orators 91 

Knox Seminary Girls 78, 79 

Knox vs. Lake Forest 193 

Laboratories 159 

Lincoln-Douglas Debate 76 



OrroiiTK Pagb 

Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Anniver- 
sary of (1896) 100 

Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Anniver- 
sary of (1900) 101 

Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Anniver- 
sary of (1908) 106 

Log City 36 

Old Main 144 

Prairie Farm, A 203 

Presbyterian Church 146 

Sanderson Residence, The 74 

Seminary, The (1857) 68 

Standish Mansion, The 202 

Standish Park 203 

Triumvirate, The 118 

Triumvirate Memorial Tablet 119 

Way to Knox 129 

Whitestovvn Seminary 6 

Whiting Hall 165, 172, 173 

Women of the Colony... 51, 54, 55, 58 



PORTRAITS 



Anderson, Samantha Wheeler 

Avery, Cyrus M 

Avery, George 

Ballance, John G 

Bancroft, Edgar A 91, 

Bascom, Flavel 

Bascom, Ruth Pomeroy 

Bateman, Newton 

Bender Victor E 87, 

Bennett, Malvina M 

Bentley, William F 

Bergen, Fidelia A 

Blanchard, Jonathan 

Blanchard, Mary A 

Bunce, Dr. James 

Carr, Clark E 

Campbell, Stuart M 

Chambers, Edward P 

Cliambers, Matthew 

Chambers, Mrs. Matthew 

Churchill, George 

71, 90, 110, 111, 

Churchill, Norman 

Churchill, Mrs. Norman 

Colton, Chauncey S 

Colton, Mrs. C. S 

Comstock, Milton L 87, 118. 

Cooper, Job A 

Craig. A. M 

Cress, George V 



51 

127 

29 

.86 

176 

126 

58 

83 

91 

91 

84 

54 

62 

58 

28 

99 

108 

44 

44 

55 

118 
49 
49 
29 
58 

122 
92 

117 
86 



Curtis, Harvey 81 

Curtis, William S 81 

Edwards, Eaton A 87 

Farnhani, Eli 49 

Farnham, Mrs. Eli 58 

Ferris, Elizabeth Hudson 28 

Ferris, Henry 28 

Ferris, Silvanus 16 

Ferris, Western 16 

Ferris, Mrs. William 55 

Finiey, John H 91, 96 

Gale, George C 176 

Gale, George W 1 

Gale, W. Selden 98 

Gaylord, Joseph S 90 

Gilbert, Thomas 16 

Goodell, Eunice Adams 54 

Grant, Innes 71 

Gulliver, John P 82 

Hatch, Sarah 95 

Hinckley, Clarissa Root 32 

Hitchcock, Henry 117 

Hitchcock, Henry E 67, 71 

Hitchcock, Margaret Gale 67 

Holmes, Jessie R 90 

Howard. Ada 95 

Holyoke, William 44 

Holyoke, Mrs. William 54 

Holyoke. William E 67 

Hurd, Albert.. 71, 82. 87, 115. IIS, 123 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Opposite Page 

Jenks, Jeremiah W 87 

Kellogg, Hiram H 62 

Larkin, Edgar H 90 

Lawrence, George A 127 

Losey, Nehemiah H 32 

McCall, Ida M 90, 124 

McCall. Sara M 90, 124 

McChesney, Margaret 90 

McClelland, Thomas 102 

McClure, Samuel S 127 

McKnlght, J. T 117 

Martin, Abigail Prentice 51 

Mather, Robert 127 

Mills, Stephen C 86 

Pearsons, Daniel K 126 

Read, Henry W 87 

Root, Riley 32 

Roy, Joseph E 92 

Sanborn, John G 44 

Sanderson, Henry R 67 



Opposite Pace 

Sanderson, Levi 29 

Simonds, W. E 109 

Standish, John V. N 108 

Tompkins, Samuel 16 

Waters, Rev. John 21 

Waters, Mrs. John 55 

West, Katharine 51 

West, Mary Allen 51 

Wetmore, Isaac M 28 

White, Stephen V 92 

Whiting, Maria 95 

Willard, Thomas R 87, 109 

Willcox, Erastus 92 

Willcox, Henry 29 

Willcox, Mrs. Henry 55 

Willcox, Malvina M 95 

Williams, Martha 54 

Wilson, John P 117 

Woods, Dency Root 32 

Wyckoff, Charles T 91 



TO THE 

DESCENDANTS OF THE FOUNDERS 

AND TO THE 

GRADUATES AND STUDENTS OF KNOX COLLEGE 

SCATTERED ABROAD, 

IN THE HOME LAND, IN FOREIGN LANDS 

AND IN THE ISLANDS OF THE SEAS, 

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED 

3nnr. 1912 



FOREWORD 



From the depths of a full heart the writer of this nar- 
rative desires to express her profound and abiding sense of 
personal obligation to "The Founders," that noble and not- 
able band of pioneers for the goodly heritage which they 
established and bequeathed to her; for this pleasant city of 
habitation in which she was born and from which she has 
never been absent for a longer period than a year at a 
time; for Knox College in which her happy school days 
were spent and to which she has ever been closely allied in 
sympathy and loyalty, both personally and also because of 
her father's intimate connection with it for nearly half a 
century as a member and the secretary of its Board of 
Trustees ; for the Church which gave her her baptismal 
name and which has been to her from earliest recollection 
the earthly " home of the soul." 

And since the opportunity may not again occur, she de- 
sires to place on record her sense of indebtedness also to 
those rare virtues and excellencies of character, of speech, 
of conduct — to that which in the plodding, weary, restrict- 
ed, oft-times hapless, or again well-nigh hopeless routine of 
their daily life, was the all-pervasive, uplifting influence 
working in and through and above all else ; their sorrows, 
their joys ; their failures, their successes ; their trials, their 
triumphs; in a word, to the Spirit of the Founders, to the 
memory of the sacred dead. 

But why pay tribute alone to the Spirit of the Found- 
ers : why not greet and salute the spirits of the founders? 
Are they not hovering as ministering spirits all about us, 
participants in this joyful celebration of our Diamond jubi- 
lee — their Diamond jubilee? Is not the very atmosphere 
about us palpitant with the presence of the circling 
throngs? Have they not gathered from near and afar, 



viii SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

leaving their "sweet employment in the spacious field of 
eternity" and assembled in the goodly and familiar fellow- 
ship of the long ago, are they not looking upon us with ap- 
proval and benediction, though to us unseen, as we recall 
their memories and their worthy deeds? 

Here it was, upon the selfsame ground, now occupied 
by the stately buildings of their dreams, that three 
quarters of a century ago, they kneeled with uncovered 
heads, in solemn act of dedication and consecrated to the 
God whom they then served, and in whose presence they 
now rejoice, the college, the church and the city which they 
had undertaken to establish. 

History tells us that this prayer of consecration was led 
by "Father" Waters, his white locks streaming in the 
prairie winds which swept unbroken in their course, while 
with impassioned earnestness he dedicated the enterprise 
to the Lord, praying fervently for all those who in all com- 
ing time should be connected with these institutions, either 
to influence or to be influenced by them. 

That far-reaching, all-embracing prayer! Has it not 
been wafted by the wings of faith down through the inter- 
vening years, until it rests in a blessed fulfillment and with 
future promise upon those who have gathered to celebrate 
the seventy-fifth anniversary of that enterprise which was 
then scarcely more than the "baseless fabric" of a vision. 

And so this narrative of their far-seeing plans and not- 
able achievements is written as a tribute of reverence, of 
love and devotion to the memory of the founders. 

M. F. W. 
Galesburg, Illinois, June, 1912. 




f^.^^r.^^ 



Leader of the colonists who founded Galesburg and Knox College in 1837. 



CHAPTER I 

A MAN WITH AN IDEA. 

Rev. George W. Gale, the founder of Galesburg and 
Knox College, was a man who had become possessed of an 
idea. This idea entered into his every thought and purpose 
to such an extent that it became a ruling passion in his life. 
It had taken such firm hold upon him that no longer able 
or willing to ignore its influence he gave up a work which 
he had successfully promoted for seven years, and devoted 
his every talent and energy to the carrying out of the plan 
which had been maturing in his mind and seeking fulfill- 
ment at his hand. 

Before entering upon the discussion of this plan, let us 
learn something of the early life of that man who was, 
above all others, the founder of our city, our First Church 
and Knox College, and whose name, set as a signet in the 
name of our city, shall be held in honored remembrance so 
long as the city itself remains. 

George Washington Gale was born in Stanford, Dutch- 
ess County, New York, December 3, 1789. 

His grandparents, Josiah and Rebecca (Closson) Gale, 
were emigrants from Yorkshire, England, and settled in 
Stamford, Connecticut. They were the parents of six sons 
and one daughter. This fact is mentioned because the only 
daughter, Sarah, who married Hezekiah Olmstead, became 
the mother of the future wife of Silvanus Ferris, who was 
prominent in the early history of Galesburg. Thus the 
Gale and Ferris families of the company of colonists were 
united by ties of blood as well as by a common purpose. 
Mr. and Mrs. Silvanus Ferris were the progenitors of the 
numerous family of Ferrises, whose names and whose per- 
sonality under other names are intetlinked v/ith every 
movement of the history of Galesburg and Knox College 

(1) 



2 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

from the beginning until the present time. Josiah Gale, one 
of the six sons referred to, was the father of George W., the 
founder of our city. The name, Josiah, was used as a fam- 
ily name unto the third generation in the Gale family in 
this community. 

Later on the Gale and Ferris families were again united 
by marriage, when Caroline, the grand daughter of Sil- 
vanus Ferris, became the wife of W. Selden Gale, the 
mother of the present George W. Gale, a member of the 
Board of Trustees of the college, the grandmother of our 
honored alumnus, George Candee Gale, and the great 
grandmother of his little son, "George the fourth." Wes- 
tern Ferris, the son of Silvanus, was the one through whom 
this line descended. Josiah Gale 1, the father of the 
founder, was a man of great strength and muscular devel- 
opment, while his only son and youngest child was small 
of stature and slightly built although of great dignity of 
bearing and commanding presence in his mature years. At 
eight years of age the little son was left an orphan to the 
cafe of his older sisters, of whom there were eight, all of 
them married to substantial farmers of the neighborhood. 
Naturally, their oversight of their younger and only 
brother was most tender and loving, but it was also tinged 
with the austerity which characterized the rigid methods of 
family government at that period. To "eat the bread of 
idleness" was unpardonable in their eyes and they there- 
fore kept him constantly employed, either in study or in the 
thousand nameless tasks which fall to the lot of a willing 
and obedient boy on a large farm. He was ambitious, and 
much devoted to study and at an early age was prepared 
for, and entered Union College. He passed successfully 
through its course and graduated with honor. 

From Union College he went to Princeton Theological 
Seminary, then as now, the leading theological school of 
the Presbyterian church in the United States. But Mr. 
Gale's physical strength would not permit the completion 
. of his studies, and he was compelled to abandon them, 
which he did with great reluctance. He cherished the hope, 



A MAN WITH AN IDEA 3 

however, that he might be able to return and finish the 
course at some future time, in order that he might be fitted 
to pursue his chosen work. 

Although Mr. Gale had not completed his theological 
studies he was ordained to the Christian ministry and li- 
censed to preach by the Hudson Presbytery at Troy, N. Y., 
in the year 1816, when twenty-seven years of age. 

He first labored as a home missionary in that part of 
New York state bordering on the eastern shore of Lake 
Ontario, the region being at that time a comparatively 
new territory. He organized several new churches and for 
a time supplied a church in Green county. His health be- 
coming very much improved, he returned to Princeton and 
completed his theological studies in 1819. He received 
many calls to pastorates, and finally decided to accept that 
from the church at Adams, Jefferson County, New York. 
Riding thither from Princeton on horseback, he entered 
upon the duties of his first regular charge when thirty 
years of age. 

After a time failing health again compelled Mr. Gale to 
give up his work, and he resigned from the pastorate, much 
to the regret of all. His physicians advised him to seek rest 
and health in change of air and scene. Accordingly he spent 
the following winter in Virginia. 

The experiences which came to him there, and the con- 
tact and intercourse with people of a different type of 
thought and mode of living broadened his vision and 
taught him lessons which were of use to him in later years. 
He was much interested in the University of Virginia and 
certain peculiar features of that institution, which were 
much in advance of the times, made a strong impression 
upon him, and were useful as models for his new undertak- 
ings in after years. Step by step he was led into experi- 
ences which would especially fit him for taking up the 
crowning work of his life. Improved in health Mr. Gale re- 
turned to New York but found himself still unable to en- 
gage in the duties of a pastorate. He therefore found a 



4 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

temporary home in an old fashioned comfortable house, on 
a small farm in the village of Western, Oneida County. 

This farm home proved to be, as it were, the birthplace 
of the idea to which we have referred — the idea which led 
first to the establishment of an institution of learning in 
Whitesboro, New York, and later to the development of 
the plan which resulted in the founding of Knox College. 

In 1820, about the beginning of his first pastorate, Mr. 
Gale was married in Troy, N. Y., to Miss Harriet Selden, 
the daughter of Hon. Charles Selden, and Abigail Jones, 
his wife. She was quite young at the time of her marriage; 
and having been delicately reared she was little accus- 
tomed to hardships of any kind. But to her it was ap- 
pointed to share the hardships and vicissitudes of her hus- 
band's early experiences, his emigration by means of the 
slow and wearisome progress of an overland journey of a 
thousand miles to their new home on the prairie, and the 
accompanying privations of pioneer life. It was said of her 
that "she followed his fortunes, if not with enthusiasm, at 
least without complaint." 

With wifely devotion she withheld nothing, and being 
possessed of a small fortune she placed it at the disposal of 
her husband in order that he might the more readily carry 
out his plans. Mrs. Gale was the mother of eight childen, 
the most of them living to mature years. After her death, 
which occurred in 1840, just twenty years after her mar- 
riage, Mr. Gale was twice married, his second wife being 
the daughter of Daniel Williams, and aunt of the Hon. E. 
P. Williams of our city, and the third wife. Miss Lucy Mer- 
riman, of New Haven, Ct. 

And so, as our thought again turns to the farm home at 
Western, we think of the frail girlish wife as installed as its 
mistress. Their residence on the farm was during a period 
of great religious activity. Such noted evangelists as 
Nettleton, Burchard, Finney and others, went from church 
to church, holding protracted revival meetings, arousing 
Christians to renewed efforts for the conversion of the 
world and urging sinners to repentance. Mr. Gale was pos- 



A MAN WITH AN IDEA 5 

sessed of a deep religious feeling, sincere, earnest and en- 
ergetic, and naturally he came under the influence of the 
movement and entered into it. His well balanced mind and 
strong, good sense saved him from many of the extrava- 
gances and eccentricities in which the professional evange- 
list indulged, and gave to his efforts a more practical turn. 
His thought took this form ; to quickly and effectively pro- 
mote the conversion of the world, there must be provided a 
devoted educated ministry. He had observed that in other 
professions, and in commercial life, the most successful 
men were those raised in the country, of honest, industri- 
ous parents, and who were accustomed to labor and self- 
denial. Therefore, he believed that in the country the best 
material for the service of the church was to be found. 

The way to an education was often effectually barred 
to these young men because of lack of means and from the 
fact that in the effort to carry on their studies, while at the 
same time earning the means of support, their strength was 
greatly overtaxed, and long before the completion of their 
course of study they became broken in health and partially 
or wholly unfitted for further service. How to provide a 
means by which such young men could secure an education 
and finally reach the ministry was the problem which occu^ 
pied Mr. Gale's mind in his retired life at Western. Suiting 
action to thought, he invited young men of the neighborhood 
who were desirous of an education to come to him for in- 
struction. Half a dozen young men responded to his invita- 
tion. To these he furnished books and gave instruction 
in consideration of three hours' daily work upon the 
farm. These young men were accustomed to farm life, and 
it occurred to Mr. Gale that if each student was given a 
daily task of a sufficient amount of out-door work to relieve 
the mental strain incident to hard study better results might 
be obtained. At the same time this would aid in meeting 
the expense of his education. 

This experiment attracted the attention of many friends, 
with the result that, after a time, with their aid, he founded a 
school in Whitesboro, Oneida County, New York, after the 



6 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

model which he had been developing and testing during 
these years of experiment. The new school was called 
"The Manual Labor School"; later it was known as 
"Oneida Institute"; and later still as "Whitestown ♦Semin- 
ary." This experiment on the little farm at Western, and 
its further unfolding at Whitesboro, proved to be the germ 
and the gradual development of the project which resulted 
in the organization of the Galesburg colony and the found- 
ing of Knox College. Mr. Gale personally solicited the 



^"f^^ f *AM/p, 




funds for the purchase of a farm and the erection of build- 
ings for the proposed Manual Labor School. Instructors 
were secured, a curriculum of study adopted, dormitories 
and shops built and the new project was fairly launched. 
Here, as on the farm at Western, three hours' daily labor 
paid for room-rent and board. For their work in the 
shops the students received whatever it was considered to 
be worth. The school was soon filled with students and 
the enterprise was pronounced a success. An intensely re- 



••The name Whitesboro wis changed to Whitestown at a later date. 



A MAN WITH AN IDEA 7 

ligious feeling pervaded the school, and strong anti-slavery 
and temperance principles characterized its management 
and constituency. 

WHITESBORO, N. Y. 

Beautiful for situation is the village of Whitesboro, 
Oneida County, N. Y., the scene of Mr. Gale's first import- 
ant venture in the establishment of a Manual Labor School. 
We give a description of the picture which spreads out be- 
fore one as he enters the village, which was written by a 
graduate of Whitestown Seminary of thirty years ago. It 
gives us a pleasing impression of the scenes which were 
familiar to Mr. Gale during the years of his residence there, 
and while his "Plan" was developing in his fertile creative 
mind. 

Speaking of Whitestown, the township in which the 
village of Whitesboro is located, this writer says: 

"Situated in the garden of the state, in the broad valley of 
the Mohawk, we may well admire her location. Behind her 
lie the quiet hills; before and around her sweep the broad 
meadows. 

The Sanquoit, from the noisy hum of its ten thousand 
busy spindles, comes laughing down at her side, and the Mo- 
hawk, still fresh from its run of some twenty miles, moves 
on, a powerful and beautiful river. . . . Another picture which 
it is worth our while to notice is seen when the road crosses 
the Erie canal between Whitesboro and Oriskany. It is a 
picture of the Mohawk, spanned by an old wooden bridge. 
Two or three tall elms keep guard by the water's edge. A 
hedge of willows skirts the road. The meadows, low and 
green, stretch out to meet the hills ; and the city, with its 
spires, so far away, looks very beautiful in the afternoon 
sunshine. 

Entering Whitesboro, walking along the park, and looking 
eastward, how majestically those mighty elms rise up! How 
calmly their tall forms bend to make that arch! How the 
maples stretch their broad arms forth and clasp their hands 
across the street ! What a roof is that ! Canopied with green 
checked with the blue heavens ! The air that stirs among their 
branches lends them grace; and the shadows that fleck the 
dusty street below are but an added charm." 



8 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

In the "Annals and Recollections of Oneida County," pub- 
lished in Rome, N. Y., over sixty years ago, we find this in- 
teresting reference to the village of Whitesboro: 

"The inhabitants early bethought themselves to ornament 
their streets with elms and other forest trees, which have now 
become large and almost venerable in their appearance and 
add greatly to the beauty of the place. It is a quiet, lovely 
village, and no more desirable place for a village residence 
can be found in the county. . . . Just below the village is what 
was formerly the 'Oneida Institute of Science and Industry' 
under the patronage of the Presbyterians ; but an unfortunate 
abolition difficulty arose and the institution which had flour- 
ished for a time declined, and at length was purchased by 
the Free Will Baptists, who have now a very flourishing and 
valuable school. The institution occupies three large, com- 
modious buildings of wood with a small farm attached. Few 
places of the size can be found which could boast of such an 
array of men of talent as Whitesboro. They were prominent 
not only in central New York, but throughout the state, and 
a portion of them were not unknown to fame in our national 
legislature." 

And so, with this glimpse of the favorable environment 
in which the plans for the founding of our city gradually 
unfolded, we resume the narrative of their development and 
progress. Mr. Gale remained with the school for seven 
years, during which time its name was changed from 
"The Manual Labor School" to "Oneida Institute." 
In 1834 he retired from the management, leaving it under 
the charge of good and efficient men, and he began a new 
scheme for the founding of an institution of learning, some- 
vv^here in the far unknown western country which had be- 
gun to stretch forth beckoning hands to the substantial cit- 
izens of New York and New England to come out and pos- 
sess the land. 

His carefully prepared Circular and Plan sets forth so 
clearly his enlarged views that it is given in full. 



CHAPTER II 

THE IDEA TAKES FORM. 

DR. gale's ''circular AND PLAN." 

The following is the original circular, adopted in Whites- 
boro, N. Y., January 7, 1836, which led to the founding of 
Knox College and the city of Galesburg: 

"The indications of Providence, as well as the requisitions 
of Christ, impose on Christians of this day peculiar obliga- 
tions to devise and execute, as far as in them lies, liberal and 
efficient plans for spreading the gospel through the world. The 
supply of an evangelical and able ministry is, in the whole 
circle of means, confessedly the most important for the ac- 
complishment of this end ; all other means are the mere aids 
and implements of the living preacher. And yet, important as 
it is to the sustaining of the church and the conversion of the 
world, there is reason to believe that the business of furnishing 
a devoted and efficient ministry has entered less into the cal- 
culations of Christians at large than any other department of 
benevolent effort of the present day; certainly much less in 
proportion to its magnitude. Perhaps they have thought this 
a work peculiarly the Lord's, in which they had very little to 
do. But the language of the Savior, 'Pray ye the Lord of the 
harvest to send forth laborers,' and the fact that they are to 
be furnished, not by miracle, but by the slow progress of edu- 
cation, proves that we have much to do, especially when we 
look at the field which our own country, to say nothing of the 
wide world, spreads out before us ; a field 'white for the har- 
vest.' 

"Who that loves the souls of men can look on this field 
and not feel his heart affected, and not tax his energies to the 
utmost, as well as offer most fervent prayers to the Lord of the 
harvest, that he would furnish the laborers? Who that loves 
the institutions of his country can look upon it without alarm 
when he reflects that in a few, a very few years, they will be in 
the hands of a population reared in this field ; and reared, un- 
less a mighty effort be made by evangelical Christians, under 
the forming hand of those who are no less the enemies of civil 

(9) 



10 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

liberty than of a pure gospel. What is done to prevent this 
ruin must be done quickly. It is perfectly within the power of 
evangelical Christians in this country, under God, to furnish, 
and that speedily, all the laborers wanted on this field, besides 
doing much towards supplying the world. The men are al- 
ready furnished ; if not, 'the Lord of the harvest' will furnish 
them. Hundreds of youth of talent, and piety, and enterprise, 
stand ready to enter upon the work of preparation whenever 
a 'wide and effectual door is opened' for them. The manual 
labor system, if properly sustained and conducted, will open 
to them that door. It is peculiarly adapted not only to qualify 
men for the self-denying and arduous duties of the gospel min- 
istry, especially in our new settlements and missionary fields 
abroad, but to call them out, to induce them to enter upon the 
work of preparation. It is an important fact that while other 
institutions are many of them greatly in want of students, 
these, with all the disadvantages under which they have to 
labor, are not only filled, but great numbers are rejected for 
want of means to accommodate them. Let institutions be es- 
tablished on this plan, having all the requisitions and facilities 
for profitable labor, in connection with the advantages for 
literary acquisitions enjoyed in our well-endowed seminaries, 
and there will be no lack of students, especially if there be 
added to these means of gratuitous instruction to the indigent. 
Let such provision be made, and three-fourths of the indi- 
gent young men will ask no other aid ; and should they ask it, 
the church will do them a favor to refuse them, and leave 
them to their efforts to make up the deficiency. 

"It is beginning to be believed, and not without good reason, 
that females are to act a much more important part in the 
conversion of the world than has been generally supposed ; not 
as preachers of the gospel, but as help-meets of those who are, 
and as instructors and guides of the rising generations, not only 
in the nursery, but in the public school. It should therefore 
be an object of special aim with all who pray and labor for the 
conversion of the world, to provide for the thorough and well- 
directed education of females. Experiment has already proved 
that manual labor may be successfully introduced into female 
seminaries, and that it is highly conducive to health and piety, 
and adapted to reduce the expenses of education sufficiently 
to encourage many young ladies to qualify themselves in such 
seminaries for fields of usefulness, who, without that encour- 
agement, would never have put forth such efforts. What has 
been done on this subject shows the importance and proves the 
feasibility of doing much more. It is perfectly in the power 



THE IDEA TAKES FORM 11 

of a few families of moderate property to rear up such insti- 
tutions, at this time, in the valley of the Mississippi, on a per- 
manent basis, with a great part of the endowment required 
and on a liberal and extensive scale with a great advantage to 
themselves and families. Such a plan is here proposed, with 
the design, if it may please the Lord, to carry it into effect." 

Now Mr. Gale sent out his circulars and set about secur- 
ing subscriptions to his enterprise, making a personal can- 
vass among his friends in central and eastern New York, 
striving to interest both clergymen and laymen in the plan 
which was of so much interest and moment to himself. In 
the early part of the year 1835 he had secured a sufficient 
number of subscribers to justify an organization of the ef- 
fort, and the action was therefore taken which was to be of 
such untold influence and importance in the years to come. 
An organization was accomplished in the First Presbyte- 
rian Church in Rome, N. Y., on the 6th of May, 1835. A 
prudential committee was selected, which was composed of 
six men, who were empowered to fill out their number to 
eleven members. These six men were Walter Webb of 
Adams, Nehemiah West of Ira, Thomas Gilbert of Rome, 
John C. Smith of Utica, George W. Gale of Whitesboro, and 
H. H. Kellogg of Clinton. Where should the new enter- 
prise be located? Where should be found the ways and 
means for carrying it to completion? These were the ques- 
tions which involved long and earnest discussion on the 
part of this committee. 

An exploring committee must be named. Who should 
be selected to undertake this highly important and respon- 
sible work? The choice fell upon Nehemiah West, 
Thomas Gilbert and T. B. Jervis for the exploring commit- 
tee, and the Rev. George W. Gale was to enlist families and 
secure funds for the new colony. 

By June, 1835, about one-half the proposed sum was 
subscribed; that is, about $20,000. Only about $6,000 of 
this was ever paid. But having set their hands to the plow 
the promoters of this enterprise would not turn back, and 
on the sixth day of June, 1835, was held at Rome, N. Y., 



12 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

the first meeting of the subscribers. Of that meeting Rev. 
John Waters was made chairman and T. B. Jervis, secre- 
tary. 

The following gentlemen were appointed trustees of 
the fund: Messrs. Walter Webb, Nehemiah West, 
Thomas Gilbert, John C. Smith, G. W. Gale, and H. H. 
Kellogg; and as already stated Rev. George W. Gale was 
general agent. Thirty-three persons had given their ap- 
proval to the plan and had subscribed $21,000 toward car- 
rying it into execution, but only about half the names on 
that original subscription list became permanent names on 
the records of the colony. 

Following is a list of the original subscibers : 

George W. Gale, Whitestown, N. Y. 
H. H. Kellogg, Clinton, N. Y. 
John Waters, N. Hartford, N. Y. 
Timothy B. Jarvis, Rome, N. Y. 
John McMullin, Western, N. Y. 
Thomas Gilbert, Rome, N. Y. 
Sylvester Bliss, Adams, N. Y. 
Samuel Bond, Adams, N. Y. 
Nathaniel Curtis, Adams, N. Y. 
Walter Webb, Adams, N. Y. 
Barnabas Norton, Adams, N. Y. 
Nehemiah West, Adams, N. Y. 
Nehemiah H. Losey, Whitestown, N. Y. 
John C. Smith, Whitestown, N. Y. 
Thomas Simmons, Madison, N. Y. 
Samuel Peck, Madison, N. Y. 
Phineas Camp, Cincinnatus, N. Y. 
George Stedman, Rome, N. Y. 
S. W. Stewart, Clinton, N. Y. 
Roland Sears, Whitestown, N. Y. 
Silvanus Ferris, Russia, N. Y. 
Chester Johnson, Russia, N. Y. 
Sylvanus Town, Troy, N. Y. 
J. F. Town, Troy, N. Y. 
Jeremiah Holt, Watertown, N. Y. 
B. P. Johnson, Rome, N. Y. 
H. S. Johnson, Rome, N. Y. 
Amatus Robbins, Amsterdam, N. Y. 



THE IDEA TAKES FORM 13 

Elisha Jenne, Amsterdam, N. Y. 
Luther Stiles, Amsterdam, N. Y. 
J. B, Marsh, Amsterdam, N. Y. 
Guerdon Grant, Troy, N. Y. 
Chauncey Pierce^ Troy, N. Y. 
Smith Griffith, Nassau, N. Y. 
Lewis Kinney, Nassau, N. Y. 
John Grey, Troy, N. Y. 
J. S. Fitch, Brainbridge, N. Y. 
James Barton, Schoharie, N. Y. 
Benjamin Lane, Schagticoke, N. Y. 
H. T. Avery, N. Lebanon, N. Y. 
George Avery, N. Lebanon, N. Y. 
John Kendall, N. Lebanon, N. Y. 
Francis Churchill, N. Lebanon, N. Y. 
William Churchill, N. Lebanon, N. Y. 
Miss Arminta Rice, Whitestown, N. Y. 
Sidney Rice, Whitestown, N. Y. 



CHAPTER III 

THE LURE OF THE PRAIRIES 

Where shall the new enterprise be located? This was 
the question uppermost in the minds of the committee, sec- 
ond only in importance to the question of the men and the 
means with which to equip it. The thought of all was di- 
rected to the region of the "New West," and to the limit- 
less reaches of virgin prairie, so alluring to the fancy, as 
they stretched "in airy undulations far away." In striking 
contrast to the rugged hillsides and stony intervales of 
their native New York and New England, were the prai- 
ries, with their rich black loam underlying the riotous lux- 
uriance of verdure and blossom, with an abounding wealth 
of exhaustless treasure hidden far beneath them ! Fancy 
portrayed to their mental vision a picture such as this : 

"These are the gardens of the desert, these 

The unshorn fields, boundless and beautiful 

For which the speech of England has no name — 

The Prairies ! I behold them for the first. 

And my heart swells, while the dilated sight 

Takes in the encircling vastness. 

Lo ! they stretch in airy undulations far away, 

As if the ocean in his gentlest swell 

Stood still with all his rounded billows fixed 

And motionless forever." 

And so the exploring committee was instructed to ex- 
plore the prairie states of Indiana and Illinois between the 
fortieth and forty-second degrees of north latitude with ref- 
erence to the best location for the proposed settlement. 

The instructions give evidence of shrewd calculation and 
wise forethought on the part of those who draughted them, 
and are so explicit in every detail that unwise or ill-advised 
action on the part of the committee would scarcely have 
been possible. 

(14) 



THE LURE OF THE PRAIRIES 15 

We quote some of the more suggestive paragraphs : — 

"First, Health : this may be regarded as a sine qua non. 
Under this head the following indications are to be specially 
noticed : 

I. 1. The quality of the water in wells and springs. 2. The 
streams, whether rapid, slow or sluggish — whether rise in 
swamps or pass thro them — or from springs . . . the vicinity 
of marshes . . . the face of the country, whether level or rolling. 

II. Quality of soil — depth — variety — general character : 
whether clay, loam or sand and if mixed, what proportions 
probably — slope of the country and toward what points and 
the degree of slope .... 

IV. Facilities of intercourse — roads and canals, where now 
made or probably to be made at no distant time — navigable 
streams .... 

VII. If a place on some great thoroughfare, such as a 
canal or navigable water cannot be obtained, it will be better 
to get into the country from 15 to 25 miles from such place, 
provided the country around be a good farming country. It 
should, however, be on some important road or where it is 
probable such road would be opened. 

In behalf of the Prudential Committee. 

Geo. W. Gale, Sec'y- 
Whitesboro, May 13th, 1835. 

Messrs. Gilbert, West and Ferris, 
Exploring Committee of the N. Y. Society for Establishing a 
Colony and Literary Institutions in the Valley of the Mis- 
sissippi." 

The committee went out as instructed, explored the re- 
gions designated, fixed upon a location in Knox County, in 
the state of Illinois, and returning, made their report to the 
subscribers at their second meeting, August 19, 1835. The 
report was accepted and a purchasing committee was ap- 
pointed, consisting of Rev. George W. Gale, Silvanus Ferris 
and Nehemiah West. 

Their instructions were to purchase not less than 
twenty sections of land, and as much more as their funds 
would allow, one-tenth of which must be timber and the 
rest prairie, and for which the Government price of $1.25 
per acre was to be paid. Three sections should be reserved 



16 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

for college and village purposes, and the remainder sold to 
actual settlers at $5.00 per acre. The surplus thus accruing 
was to constitute the endowment of the college; while the 
proceeds from the sale of village lots were to be used in the 
endowment of a Female Seminary. 

And so they started out upon their final mission — the 
purchase of the land on which now stands the fair city of 
Galesburg as a monument to their wise and far-sighted in- 
vestment. 

Such of the subscribers as might desire to accompany 
them were made advisory members of the committee. 
Western Ferris, a son of Silvanus, was in the party, and 
they were joined on the route by Rev. John Waters, 
Thomas Simmons and Samuel Tompkins. At Detroit Mr. 
Gale was taken ill and, being unable to continue the jour- 
ney, the committee went on without him. Mr. Gilbert, of 
the original exploring committee, had found in the town- 
ship south of Knoxville, a beautiful prairie, in every way 
desirable, save that it was not so large as was considered 
necessary. He had there bought land for himself and set- 
tled there, never identifying himself thereafter with the 
Galesburg colony. The beautiful Gilbert's Park, lying on 
the south-western outskirts of Knoxville, which was im- 
proved and beautified by his son, Thomas Gilbert the second, 
is a lasting monument to the name and memory of the Gil- 
bert family. This park is a delightful resort, and a blessing 
not only to Knoxville, but to all the region round about. 

The story of the journey of the purchasing committee 
is best told in a letter written by Nehemiah West, to a rela- 
tive, immediately after his return from the trip, and giving 
an account of the expedition. The letter follows : 

Ira, New York, February, 19th, 1836 
"Dear Brother : 

We have just received yours of the 11th of January. Know- 
ing you feel an interest in our welfare I will attempt to give 
you an outline of our journey, success and prospects. I left 
home on my last expedition very reluctantly ; nothing but a 
sense of duty and the indications of Providence would ever 




SILVANUS FERRIS 
Member of the Purchasing Committee. 



WESTERN FERRIS 
Who accompanied his father on the 
expedition. 




SAMUEL TOMPKINS 
Of the Purchasing Committee. 



THOMAS GILBERT 
Of the Exploring Committee. 



THE LURE OF THE PRAIRIES 17 

have induced me to tear myself from dear friends and the 
bosom of my family, to encounter the fatigues of three months' 
journey ings in the midst of perils by land and by water. 

The next day, after parting from you at Elbridge, my 
friends joined me and we started. Spent the Sabbath at 
Batavia, and on Monday we arrived at Buffalo. Tuesday noon 
we went on board a steamboat with our team for Detroit. 
We ought to have made the trip in two days, but were tossed 
about by storm for four days and narrowly escaped ship- 
wreck. We were run into in the night by another boat, but 
that same kind Providence which ever protects those who con- 
fide in Him saved us from a watery grave. One of our com- 
pany, who is one of our principal men, Rev. G. W. Gale, in 
consequence of violent spasms of sea-sickness, was thrown 
into a disease which rendered it necessary to leave him in 
Detroit. This threw an additional burden on me, as having 
been one of the Exploring Committee, I was somewhat ac- 
quainted with the country. We proceeded to Illinois, and, 
after examining all the places visited by the committee in the 
spring, we selected a location in the county of Knox, lying 
nearly central between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, in 
the Military Tract, 150 miles southwest from Chicago and 
about 40 miles west of Peoria. We purchased about 20,000 
acres, nearly in a square form, mostly prairie. 

It is a fine tract of land in a very healthy country, well 
watered, and supplied with abundance of stone and coal. We 
surveyed it out into lots of eighty acres each, agreeable to our 
plan of distribution among subscribers. In the center we laid 
off three contiguous sections of 640 acres each, for college 
and village purposes — two for the college and one for the 
village — stuck the stakes for our college building and re- 
turned home. 

There were some lands adjoining our purchase we wanted 
to buy, owned by a man in New York. This made it necessary 
for me to return that way. Accordingly, after we sold our 
team, I took steamboat and went down the Mississippi to St. 
Louis in Missouri, then up the Ohio to Wheeling, then passed 
over the mountains by stage and railroad to Baltimore, thence 
to Philadelphia and New York, from thence up to Albany in 
nearly the last boat which ran up the Hudson, and home by 
stage. ... I arrived here the 28th of November. Since then 
we have had a meeting of the subscribers and made various 
arrangements for the colony. We are to have another meet- 
ing the 2nd of March at Whitesboro which I expect to attend, 
so you see I have business enough to occupy all my time. I 



18 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

am one of the building committee which will prevent my doing 
as much on my own land next summer as I wished. 

We have about thirty families — all pious — who are to settle 
together, so you see we have the prospect of good society, and 
the facilities for educating our children. We expect to start 
with our family as soon as the roads are passable in the 
Spring. I very much desire to be on the ground in time to 
put in some crops. I have a log cabin ready to move into till 
I can build and 40 acres broken up, all ready for any kind of 
grain. If I do not get there in time to plant, I have engaged 
a friend to do it for me. 

We expect to break and fence 200 or 300 acres of the col- 
lege land next season and sow it to wheat. Thirty bushels to 
the acre is the usual product for the first crop. It is worth 
six shillings, per bushel ; eighty of corn, worth two shillings, 
but it is worth more to feed, as pork is worth $4.00 per cwt. 
to send to New Orleans. 

The snow is now four feet deep here and the weather 
severe ; this cold winter has effectually weaned me, not from 
my friends, but from this cold country. 

Adieu, 

N. West 

P. S. When we reach the place of our destination you 
will direct your letters to Knoxville, Illinois, till we get a 
post office at our village, which is named Galesburg, and our 
college, Prairie College." 

In the letter above quoted Mr. West mentions the fact 
that the land selected for their purchase was a tract "lying 
nearly central between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers." 
It is an interesting geographical fact, determined by later 
surveys, that on the eighty acre tract of the original survey 
which was purchased by Eli Farnham, lies the ridge which 
forms the water-shed between the two rivers. This tract 
is bounded on the east by Farnham street. This street be- 
fore the railroad passed through Galesburg was a part of 
the main highway for overland travel from Chicago to the 
Mississippi river. Prof. Churchill used to tell his physical 
geography classes in Knox Academy that, "When the rain 
falls on Eli Farnham's farm in the east part of town, half 
the water runs toward the Mississippi river and half toward 
the Illinois." 



THE LURE OF THE PRAIRIES 19 

AN INTERLUDE 

As has already been stated in Mr, West's letter, Mr. 
Gale was taken ill at Detroit and, being unable to continue 
his journey westward, he returned to his home when suffi- 
ciently recovered to undertake the trip. 

And just here a pleasing interlude is introduced in the 
nature of an interesting bit of romance founded upon fact. 
When Mr. Gale started out upon the long journeys with 
the purchasing committee, with the prospect of an absence 
from his home indefinitely prolonged, his wife, always frail 
in health, felt very keenly the burden of her loneliness and 
the responsibility of the care of her seven children. 

The children ranged in age from her sturdy eldest son, 
William Selden, of honored memory in our city, then a lad 
of thirteen, to the wee, winsome lassies, Harriet, Mary and 
Margaret, and the infant, Charles Selden, who did not long 
survive. Indeed, one of the pathetic incidents of their slow 
and tedious journey hither in 1836 was the death of the 
frail baby during the trip, as the family journeyed through 
unfamiliar scenes, and far from sympathizing kindred and 
friends. 

A friend who was staying with Mrs. Gale during her 
husband's absence, touched with sympathy for her loneli- 
ness and desirous to alleviate it, composed some verses for 
her entertainment. The poem was entitled "A Fact," and 
was a narrative in rhyme of an incident that had occurred 
a hundred years before. 

Fifty years passed by, and the writer of the verses, then 
an old lady, was living in Janesville, Wis. On the fiftieth an- 
niversary of the period when they were written, the friends 
of the writer, as a complimentary tribute to her, had the 
verses printed and embellished with quaint illustrations 
which portray the scenes narrated in the poem. This was 
the first link in the chain uniting these verses to our pres- 
ent narrative. The second link was added at the time of 
the marriage of George Candee Gale, the great-grandson of 
the lady for whose amusement the verses were written. 



20 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

The fact that George Candee Gale is the honored President 
of our Knox Alumni Association for this Jubilee year, sev- 
enty-five years after the verses were written, adds interest 
to the narrative. His marriage to Miss Irma Reel, of Mil- 
waukee, Wis., occurred in the year 1900. 

News of the marriage was published in the Milwaukee 
papers and attracted the attention of the daughter of the 
writer of the verses. She remembered the circumstance of 
her mother's residence in the family of the elder Mr. Gale in 
Whitesboro, N. Y., in 1835. Thinking the incident would 
be of interest to the young couple, she wrote them a letter, 
relating the circumstances, and sent them a copy of the 
book for a wedding gift. This book is greatly prized by 
them as a historical relic. 




REV. JOHN WATERS 
A piominent and picturesque figure in the early life of the Colony. Chair- 
man of the Board of Trustees as re-organized after the arrival at Log City. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE IDEA DEVELOPS INTO A COLLEGE. 

At the meeting of the subscribers referred to in Mr. 
West's letter and which was held January 7, 1836, the re- 
port of the purchasing committee was accepted and a 
Board of Trustees for the College was elected. This date, 
therefore, when the infant college was placed under the 
fostering care of its duly appointed guardians and protect- 
ors, may be considered the birthday of Knox College, al- 
though the infant was not formally christened and legally 
adopted until a year later. It is interesting to notice how 
in all these records the college takes precedence of the vil- 
lage, showing the purpose of the founders to establish first 
an institution of learning which should be the nucleus 
around which would cluster the Christian church and the 
civic community. 

Mary Allen West, the daughter of Nehemiah West, in 
writing of these preliminary business meetings, says : "A 
thing most interesting to me is the devout spirit pervading 
all their business meetings. Even the dry records of busi- 
ness meetings are illuminated by the sweet- spirit of devo- 
tion to^.God and trust in His guidance. There "is no cant 
in these -records, but the simple fact recorded that all their 
business meetings were opened with prayers, and that at 
this, (the meeting of January 7) the most important of 
these meetings, the entire morning's session was spent in 
prayer for God's guidance, shows what manner of men 
they were. And who that has watched the development of 
the plans thus laid in prayer, can question the exc£llency of 
that wisdom which cometh from above?" At this meeting 
it was voted that the number of trustees for the college 
should not exceed twenty-five. The Board was given au- 
thority to fill any vacancies occurring in its membership. 

(21) 



22 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Eleven trustees were elected at once, but it was wisely de- 
cided to postpone the election of the remainder until they 
removed to the West, 

Those first appointed were: Rev. John Waters, 
chairman; Silvanus Ferris, H. H. Kellogg, Thomas Sim- 
mons, John C. Smith, Walter Webb, Nehemiah West, 
George W. Gale, Isaac Mills, Samuel Tompkins, and N. H. 
Losey, secretary. 

The farm land was divided into eighty acre lots, a 
scholarship for twenty-five years being given with each lot. 
The village was platted, the original plat being drawn by 
N. H. Losey. Lots were set apart for college, female sem- 
inary, common school, meeting-house, cemetery, etc. Ar- 
rangements were made for building a saw-mill and improv- 
ing the college land. And so the town was all complete — 
on paper — before any of its founders, except the purchas- 
ing committee, had seen the ground on which it was to 
stand. 

Mr. West's letter also refers to the action of the pur- 
chasing committee as they set apart in the center of the 
tract purchased "three contiguous sections of 640 acres each, 
for college and village purposes, two for the college and 
one for the village, stuck the stakes for the college build- 
ing and returned home." The name of the town also is 
said to have been selected at this time. 

It was then, doubtless, that the notable historic inci- 
dent occurred when they "all kneeled, with uncovered 
heads, upon the ground, while Father Waters, with impas- 
sioned earnestness, dedicated the enterprise to the Lord, 
praying fervently for all that should, in all coming time, be 
connected with the institution that was to be, either to in- 
fluence, or to be influenced by its future history." 

And so, having found for themselves "a local habitation 
and a name," the subscribers to this enterprise began to 
make active preparations to go out and possess it, in the 
name, and with the help, of that God, who, as they firmly 
believed, had "led them forth by the right way that they 
might go to a city of habitation." 



CHAPTER V 

HITHERWARD BY LAND. 

As early in the spring of 1836 as the roads would per- 
mit, "the advance guard of the army of occupation," under 
the leadership of Nehemiah West, left their pleasant homes 
in New York and started westward. 

They journeyed in strong, well-built, canvas-covered 
wagons, drawn by patient plodding horses. Their rate of 
progress was that of about as many miles per day as the 
average railway train covers in an hour. 

The weeks came and went, and the train of wagons 
moved steadily forward. The Sabbath came, and the train 
was side-tracked for a day of rest, in obedience to God's 
command, and in pursuance of their fixed purpose, and 
that of all the colonists, not to travel on the Sabbath day. 
A place of worship was sought and, if none could be found 
within convenient reach, they set up an altar in their midst 
and worshipped there. 

As they thus rested and worshipped, they were fre- 
quently passed by other "movers" who had thus joined the 
great exodus of that period from the New England and 
Eastern states to the middle West, and who were ambi- 
tious to save time by traveling on Sunday. But it is stated 
on good authority that never once did they fail to overtake 
them, and in their turn leave them behind before the next 
Saturday night. 

Four long weeks measured their slow and toilsome 
length before the new home was reached, but at last their 
pilgrimage was ended and they beheld the city of their 
dreams. 

And what did they look upon? Not a city of "cloud- 
capped towers and gorgeous palaces," not a city of churches 
and school houses, as were their own familiar Utica or Al- 

(23) 



24 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

bany; not even the pretty peaceful village nestling at the 
foot of the green hills, from which they had turned their 
faces as they bade good-bye to home and friends; but just 
a few rude log cabins, standing in the edge of a grove that 
bordered an apparently limitless expanse of trackless, tree- 
less prairie. 

It was on the second day of June, 1836, that they arrived 
at this city of their habitation. 

Mary Allen West thus describes the scene to us : 
"Had we stood then where we now stand, we could have 
seen nothing but the broad sea-like prairie, with its billows 
of verdure rippling away, wave after wave, till they broke 
on the forest shore in the distance. Across this trackless 
prairie wound a small cavalcade of canvas-covered wagons, 
the only moving things on the scene. Leaving the site of 
Galesburg to the left, they directed their course to the 
grove which skirts the prairie on the north-west. Here 
they stopped before a log cabin of the rudest structure. 
But in spite of the rudeness of their future home, each heart 
was filled with joy and thankfulness that their long journey 
was ended and their promised land reached. 

The grand old trees, through which the summer winds 
swept, sang a sweet welcome to the pilgrims, the magnificent 
prairie decked in its gala robes of green and purple and gold, 
and God's blessed sunlight resting over all, like a benedic- 
tion. Oh ! it was a loving welcome Dame Nature gave our 
fathers on that June day so many years ago." 

This company consisted of twenty-one persons : Mr. 
and Mrs. Nehemiah West and their five children; Mr. and 
Mrs. Hugh Conger with seven children; Miss Elizabeth 
Hudson, afterward Mrs. Henry Ferris ; Mr. Barber Allen 
and his son, Daniel, and the young men, John G. West and 
Abram Tyler. It is of interest to trace the route by which 
they came. Leaving Cayuga, N. Y., they went in their 
wagons to Buffalo, thence by lake to Detroit, and from De- 
troit by wagons again to their place of destination. 

This first company was especially fortunate in having 
no delays of any kind during the trip, and they made it in 



HITHERWARD BY LAND 25 

about a month. Other companies were six weeks and even 
longer on the way. But with these, not one day's travel 
was hindered by rain or sickness, or other untoward cir- 
cumstance. Often, timely showers in the night allayed the 
dust and rendered the next day's drive delightful. 

And yet, many were the hardships they encountered by 
the way. For example, upon reaching Chicago, then a 
small village of a few hundred inhabitants, they could find 
no public house large enough to accommodate so large a 
company. Almost in despair, as night drew on, a friend of 
Mr. West gained permission for them to pass the night in 
a house which was on rollers, in process of being moved. 
The man who was moving the house had gone home before 
they took possession and knew nothing of the incident. 
While they were at breakfast the next morning he returned 
and made preparations to move, unconscious of the passen- 
gers within. This caused a stampede inside the house, and 
the man, astounded at the sudden apparition of heads at 
doors and windows, dropped his tackle and addressed them 
in language more forcible than elegant. The incident al- 
though having furnished them with shelter for the night, 
also occasioned them much inconvenience and discomfort 
because of having to leave their unfinished breakfast and 
pack up and move out. 

It was no small task to keep themselves supplied with 
provisions from day to day, and in the emergency of long 
intervals between market places. Usually they succeeded 
in keeping up the supply, but at the night-fall just preced- 
ing their last day's journey their supply was exhausted. 
Tired and hungry they sought refreshment at the cabin of 
a "settler" by the name of Fraker, at Fraker's Grove, but 
they were refused. The mistress of the cabin declared that she 
had no room in the house for them and nothing for them to 
eat. In vain the mothers pleaded that their children were 
crying with hunger ; she was still unyielding. There was 
no other house in sight, night was coming on and they were 
almost in despair. At this juncture the "man of the house," 
more tender-hearted than his spouse, took them to an out- 



26 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

building where there was the rudest kind of a fire-place, 
bade them make a fire, and in a little hand-mill he ground 
some corn into a coarse meal and gave them. This the wo- 
men made into a savory mush. Two of the boys went to a 
farm house a mile distant and returned with a brimming 
pail of milk, and then, after that long and trying delay, the 
entire company feasted like kings on mush and milk. 
In the morning the good man ground more meal with 
which they made "corn dodgers," and, gathering up the 
fragments after breakfast, they took them with them to 
furnish the first meal at their new home. This they 
reached about noon, and the table on which their first din- 
ner at home was spread was the door of the cabin laid 
across boxes. 

From time to time during June and July, other colonists 
came, singly, or in groups, "strangers by sight, but friends 
through a common great purpose." 

Professor George Churchill, in writing of this bringing 
together in close companionship, such a diversity of person- 
alities and characteristics, says : "As they looked into each 
other's faces for the first time, how carefully did they look 
for the name of their great master written, not in words 
upon the forehead, but as unmistakably upon the counte- 
nance so plainly photographing the inner character; and 
but a few days elapsed before they could join heartily in 
singing that sweet hymn : 'Blest be the tie that binds our 
hearts in Christian love.' " 

The names of other colonists who arrived in the sum- 
mer and fall of 1836 are the following: Messrs. George and 
H. Troop Avery, their mother and sisters ; Matthew Cham- 
bers ; Leonard Chappell ; C. S. Colton ; Patrick Dunn ; 
Henry Ferris; Caleb Finch; Lusher Gay; Daniel 
Griffith ; Abel Goodell ; William Hamblin ; John Has- 
kins; Mrs. Hitchcock and her sons; the two Kendall 
brothers, Adoniram and John; Elisha King; N. H. Losey; 
John McMullen ; Isaac Colton ; Roswell Payne ; Riley Root ; 
Thomas Simmons ; Erastus and Job Swift ; Daniel Wheeler, 
and Henry Willcox. The most of them had families of one 



HITHERWARD BY LAND 27 

or more little children. Two of the young men were married 
during the summer or fall of 1836. This list does not in- 
clude the members of the "canal boat company" who ar- 
rived August 1, 1836. Rev. George W. Gale, with his wife 
and family of young children, arrived quite late in the fall 
of 1836. 

The first wedding celebrated by the colonists was 
that of Henry Ferris and Elizabeth Hudson, whose daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Ella Ferris Arnold, having always lived in Gales- 
burg, and having been graduated from Knox, has always 
been active in its interests. Theirs must have been a case 
of "love at first sight," for only two short months after the 
arrival of Miss Hudson with the family of Nehemiah West, 
on August 31, 1836, they were married. The place in which 
they were married was the original old log cabin which wit- 
nessed so many events during those two truly eventful 
years, in which the colonists inhabited "Log City." The mar- 
riage ceremony was performed by the Rev. Mr. Noel, of 
Knoxville, as neither Dr. Gale nor Father Waters had yet 
arrived upon the scene. 

The name of Henry Ferris occurs in the list of arrivals 
for that summer — a list which was copied from an histori- 
cal sketch written by Mary Allen West in 1873. But Mrs. 
Ella Ferris Arnold is authority for the statement that 
Henry Ferris, her father, had spent the winter of 1835-6 
living alone in one of the cabins in the edge of Henderson 
Grove, and was on the ground to welcome the first company 
of colonists when they arrived on that bright noon-day in 
June. He had spent the previous summer and winter in 
Palmyra, Missouri, attending school at Marion Institute, 
and when the exploring party, under the leadership of his 
father, Silvanus Ferris, came hither to locate their proposed 
town, he joined them here. He had been summoned from 
Palmyra by his father, not by a telegram or by the long 
distance telephone, as would be the case to-day, but by a 
letter written months before, in order that it might reach 
him in time to insure his arrival at about the same time as 
their own. It is a matter of history, however, that the 



28 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

young man was first upon the scene, wandering about alone 
over the prairie waiting in anxious expectation for the ar- 
rival of the party from the East. 

It is a tradition that Abel Goodell, a man of somewhat 
mature years, spent the winter with Henry Ferris in "the 
grove," and that the two were engaged in cutting down the 
trees with which the log cabins were some of them to be 
constructed. 

One company of the colonists carne by canal boat all 
the way from IJtic^,, N/ Y„ to a.point.on the Illiiiois river 
called Copperas, Creek landing, which was about twenty 
miles below Pepria. This journey was so hazardous, so 
eventful, and in every way so worthy of commemoration 
that it will be described in another chapter. 

In the spring of 1837 a number of substantial citizens, 
with their families, arrived to swell the population of the 
little community. Among them were the following, the 
most of them married, and with children of various ages : 
Silvanus Ferris, (although one of the chief promoters of 
the enterprise, he was one of the later arrivals) ; his sons, 
William and Olmstead, both of them married, (the former 
being the father of our well-known Knox graduate and 
teacher, Mrs. M. E. Gettemy) ; Mr. Ferris' son-in-law, Dj*. 
James Bunce; J. P. Frost, the founder of the Frost Manu- 
facturing Company) ; Harvey Jerould ; Levi Sanderson ; 
Eli Farnham-;/,H; H. May; Agrippa Martin; Junius C. 
Prentjce.;;SiTelden Allen; Jonathan Simmons; Floyd Buck- 
ingKamj/vA^estern Ferris; N. O..- Ferris; Barber Allen; 
Geor,ge:Eefris,:and possibly others. \. v-, -r ^J^ :.'>-, •• 

This^rxmrty, or at least that section of the.party in 
whiclj.were the Sanderson, Farnham, Martin, Pren^tice and 
Bujckingham families, was about .six weeks on th-e way, the 
season not being so favorable for overland travel as was 
the :preC€ding. one. They. were delayed by heavy rains. 
Now and agarin some one of the company, was ill for a short 
time, and again some of the horses were sick, as in some 
parts of their journey it was difficult to get suitable food for 
them. Also, in some places, notably in Canada, they found 




ELIZABETH HUDSON FERRIS HENRY FERRIS 

Married at Log City, August 21, 1836. This was the first wedding in the Colony. 




ISAAC M. WETMORE 
An early settler in Henderson Grove; 
he welcomed the colonists on their ar- 
rival at Log City. 



DR. JAMES BUNCE 
The physician of the Colony; he 
practiced for many years in Galesburg 
and was highly esteemed by the older 
residents. 




GEORGE AVERV 

Who, in compliance with the law of 
Illinois, paid a personal property tax 
on a negro boy under hiS guardianship. 



CIIAUNC l-.N S. COLTON 
The first merchant in the settlement, 
who did a tlniving businers in an eight 
by ten "department" building in Log 
City. 





HENRY WILLCOX 
Who joined the colony in 1836 



LEVI SANDERSON 
A member of the party that arrived 
early in 1837. A member of the Board 
of 'i'rustees. 



HITHERWARD BY LAND 29 

difficulty in procuring food for themselves, especially in 
those families where there were a number of small chil- 
dren. Each family marketed or foraged for itself, and after- 
ward shared with the others, if necessary. There were also 
pleasing and alleviating incidents on the trip, as when mem- 
bers of the party stopped to visit friends located at different 
points along the way; people who had come to the western 
country long enough before to establish themeselves com- 
fortably in business or on farms. In a journal kept by Mrs. 
Eli Farnham during the journey of six weeks and for a few 
months after their arrival, many interesting incidents of 
the trip are related, and many side-lights thrown upon their 
situation and prospects. So far as known, this is the only 
journal kept by any one of the colonists during the trip 
hither. As Mrs. Farnham had no family cares at that time, 
with only her husband and herself to provide for, from day 
to day she had ample time to jot down the scenes and in- 
cidents of the journey. The other women of the party had 
their children or young people to look after, and had very 
little time for anything else. 

The first entry in the journal is made as follows: — 
"Temperance Hotel, Skaneatles, N. Y,, Monday, 8 
o'clock p, m,, May 15, 1837. We have broken away from 
home and friends and are now on our way to Illinois." 
Twenty miles of progress were made that first day, and 
thereafter the rate of travel was from twenty-four to thirty- 
six miles per day. 

Judging from the names of the towns and villages 
touched along the route their line of travel was much the 
same as that followed by theMichigan Central Railroad to- 
day. It took them ten days to go from Skaneatles in cen- 
tral New York to Lewistown on the Niagara river where 
they crossed over to Queenstown, Canada. The description 
of their crossing of the rapid current of the Niagara is very 
graphic. After nine days of great discomfort and trying 
experiences in traveling in Canada, they crossed into their 
own native country again. One part of their route through 
Canada led them, as the journal records, — "over a most te- 



30 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

dious road, extending through woods thirteen miles long, 
and over the steepest, muddiest hills, and the deepest, larg- 
est holes I ever saw." That was saying a great deal ; for 
in central New York there are hills well worthy of the 
name. Another experience was an encounter with a severe 
thunder storm, attended by heavy winds, when the house 
in which they were sheltered rocked violently, trees were 
prostrated and boards were flying thickly through the air. 
But in all their dangers and discomforts there is unfail- 
ing acknowledgment of the kind Providence which has 
sustained and preserved them through all their experiences, 
however trying. 

An incident of the journey which did not prove to be so 
serious as it might have been, was when little Charles Pren- 
tice cut off two of his toes just as the company were ready 
to start for an afternoon's drive after the noon-day halt for 
dinner. The household remedy which was used in dress- 
ing the wound is thus described : "We bound it up nicely 
with loaf sugar and catnip, wetting it thoroughly with par- 
egoric at first, and keeping it wet with spirits." 

On Thursday morning, June 22, 1837, at 9 a. m., having 
spent the previous night at the home of a Mr. Roundtree, 
in Henderson Grove, they drew up before the little group of 
log cabins, in one of which they were to find shelter for 
some months to come. 

After speaking of their arrival upon colony ground, and 
of some of the people whom they had met, the entry in the 
journal closes thus : "Dined at Mr. Gale's. Mr. Gale has 
not yet left the grove, but he has a house almost ready on 
the prairie and expects to move into it soon. Several 
houses here at the grove will be vacant soon and those who 
have just come will be accommodated; for the present we 
have to scatter about in the different families. And for the 
present Eli and myself are well accommodated in a fine 
family until we can hire a house." 



CHAPTER VI 

HITHERWARD BY WATER. 

The historic canal boat trip of the spring and summer 
of 1836 was made up of a series of vicissitudes and disasters 
seldom paralleled in the history of pioneer emigration. 

John C. Smith, of Oneida County, New York, one of the 
subscribers to Mr. Gale's enterprise, was the owner of a 
number of boats on the Erie canal. It occurred to him that 
such a boat could be utilized in making the trip by water to 
their far distant future home in Illinois. Accordingly he 
consulted with others of the subscribers, with the result 
that a company was formed to buy a canal boat on shares, 
fit it up for passenger service and embark in it for a trip of 
a thousand miles or more over an untried water-way, un- 
tried, at least, in so far as that kind of a venture was con- 
cerned. A strong team was bought which could be used on 
the tow-path, and all preparations being completed they 
loaded their goods, stowed them away in the men's cabin 
and embarked. The company numbered thirty-seven, and 
wras made up of men, women and children, ranging in age 
from a babe of three weeks to men and women of forty or 
fifty years. Mr. Smith was the captain of the boat and 
backer of the party ; his wife at first did the cooking and the 
housekeeping, but these duties proving to be too heavy in 
so large a family, the cooking was afterward shared with 
two others, Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Mills. 

The persons making up the party were Captain Smith 
and wife; Miss Catherine Ann Watson, a niece of Mrs. 
Smith, and two little sons of Dr. Grant, a Nestorian mission- 
ary, who came under their care; Mr. and Mrs. Mills, two 
sons and a daughter ; Miss Hannah Adams, a sister of Mrs. 
Mills; a girl named Mariah Fox, and a negro boy named 
Harry, who was under the charge of Mr. Mills; Mr. Ly- 

(31) 



32 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

man, his wife, two sons and two daughters; Mr. Orrin Ken- 
dall, his wife and two little sons; John Kendall ; N. H. 
Losey, his wife and one child ; Henry Hitchcock, a brother 
of Mrs. Losey ; Mrs. Clarissa Phelps, two daughters and one 
son, two nieces and one nephew (the children of Riley 
Root) ; John Bryan and a negro who steered the boat. This 
negro expected to stay with the colony, but when he heard 
that the law of the state required some one to be responsible 
for his behavior he went back to New York. 

The families who made up the party went aboard the boat 
at different points along the Erie canal, and by the time they 
reached Buffalo they had settled down as one family. Captain 
Smith said that he considered it very remarkable that so large a 
company, almost entire strangers to each other, could make so 
happy a family. Was it not because they were actuated by 
the same great purpose which was the ruling motive of all 
the colonists, that of taking possession of new territory in 
the name of Christ and building up a Christian community 
therein? Even four year old Moses Root, following the 
example of his elders, had been praying about going to Il- 
linois. When they reached Buffalo their goods were trans- 
ferred to a steamboat, and their canal boat was fastened to 
the steamer and towed along. Off Ashtabula a great storm 
came up and the captain of the steamer ordered the canal 
boat cut loose as it was endangering his boat. All the pass- 
engers were taken aboard the steamer except Captain Smith 
and the pilot, who remained with the boat. 

At Cleveland their goods were put ashore and they anx- 
iously awaited the arrival of their own boat. Six days 
passed before its arrival, and meanwhile it had been rain- 
ing most of the time, so that their goods were badly dam- 
aged. They had, however, no alternative, so they re- 
shipped their goods, re-embarked and went on. They now 
directed their course into the Ohio canal and traversed its 
waters as far as Portsmouth. Then they left the canal for 
the Ohio river and floated down to Cincinnati. Here they 
stopped to have a propeller made by means of which they 
hoped to navigate the Mississippi river to the mouth of the 



\ 




^ 




•?- 








NEHEMIAH H. LOSEY 
Secretary of the Board, and Profes- 
sor of Mathematics and Natural Science. 



RILEY ROOT 

The inventive genius of the settle- 
ment; he was subseq^iently the inven- 
tor of the rotary snow plow. 




CLARISSA ROOT HINCKLY 



DENCY ROOT WOODS 



Daughters of Riley Root, who accompanied their Aunt, Mrs. Phelps, on the 
journey by canal boat from Buffalo to Log City. 



HITHERWARD BY WATER 33 

Illinois, and thence up the Illinois to their landing place. 
This, however, was not a great success, and many were 
their tribulations in trying to make it work. Frequently 
parts of the propeller would give way and drop into the 
river, and one of the young men. Noble Phelps, had to re- 
cover them by diving. He also recovered Captain Smith's 
watch from the river in the same way. Incidentally, little 
Hastings Grant and Clarissa Root fell into the river, but 
were rescued. 

While waiting in Cincinnati to have their propeller 
made they had an opportunity to visit some of the points 
of interest in the city which was at that time one of the 
more important and influential cities of the middle West. 
Revival services were being held in the city which members 
of the party attended, and their presence, their expedition, 
purpose and destination were matters of comment. One 
afternoon one of the ministers of the city came on board 
their boat and told them of a rumor that there was a plot 
to mob them on account of their abolition principles. Ac- 
cordingly, as a measure of safety, the women and children 
were sent up into the city, and the men remained with the 
boat ; but nothing occurred to disturb them. 

As they journeyed down the Ohio river the heat was in- 
tense, and the malarious vapors from the lowlands along 
the shore were death-dealing in their effect, as their future 
experience so sadly proved. To escape the heat they would 
occasionally tie up to the shore, and the young people 
would wander off into the woods for refreshment and recre- 
ation, and they even held young people's prayer meetings 
when away by themselves. Every Saturday afternoon the 
boat landed for the Sabbath, and if near to a church those 
of the party who could do so went to church. If not near 
to a town, the men would find the nearest school-house 
and give notice to the neighboring families that there 
would be a religious service next day in the school-house. 

On the Mississippi, and especially on the Illinois rivers, 
the water was very low and their progress was slow and 
difficult. Occasionally they were stranded on sand bars 



34 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

and finally were obliged to be towed up the Illinois river 
by a steamer making the trip. At last they disembarked at 
Copperas Creek landing. By this time all of them were ill, 
three of them fatally so, others seriously ; and the rest were 
just able to be about. 

As soon as they landed, one of the young men best able 
to make the journey went on horseback to Log City to in- 
form the earlier group of colonists who had scarcely had 
time to adjust themselves to their new conditions and re- 
strictions. The news of the arrival and their sad plight 
aroused the camp to immediate action. Men and teams 
were despatched at once to bring the newcomers to the set- 
tlement. Captain Smith did not live through the fatigue of 
that comparatively short overland trip but died at Knox- 
ville, and his was the first burial to be made in what is now 
Hope Cemetery in Galesburg. Mrs. Smith, thus bereft, re- 
turned to the East as soon as possible, and her name is 
dropped from further records. Mr. Mills died ten days 
after they reached Log City; Mr. Lyman's death followed 
soon after, and those who lived did not recover their usual 
health for months. Little Moses Root lingered till the fol- 
lowing summer and then died. 

That "hospital train," as it might well be called, which 
wound its slow pathetic way from Copperas Creek landing, 
twenty miles below Peoria, to Log City, arrived at its des- 
tination August 1, 1836. 

It bore a dejected forlorn company, as may well be 
imagined, but they received a warm welcome and tender 
ministries from those already on the ground. Among them 
was Riley Root, the colony's man of inventive genius. He 
had belonged to the boat party, but remained behind in 
New York to settle business aflfairs, and following overland 
was there to meet them and give timely aid on their arrival. 
He, with the Phelps and Lyman families, thirteen in all, 
moved into a log cabin and all of them were ill, except Mr. 
Root and a young woman hired to care for Mrs. Lyman. 

Let us see how their home and hospital combined was 
fitted up. It is vividly portrayed to us by Mrs. Clarissa 



HITHERWARD BY WATER 



35 



Root Hinckley, who was the little girl saved from a watery- 
grave in the Ohio river, and saved to become a loyal Gales- 
burger to the very heart's core ; she was also a born histo- 
rian, so that her memories and her scrap-books are a per- 
fect treasure house of historical information relating to 
events in Galesburg from the beginning to the present time. 
Mrs. Hinckley says that the one room was large, having 
the beds constructed across the ends, with a quaint box 
stove in the center of the room. The beds were built into 
each corner of the room in this wise. A pole was fastened 
into the end of the room at a proper distance from the cor- 
ner to measure the width of a bed; another pole was in- 
serted into the side-wall at the distance of a bed's length. 




The outer ends of the poles were supported by a third up- 
right pole which constituted the one only support. Ropes 
were interlaced across and around these poles forming by 
their net-work a foundation for a straw bed, the popular 
"mattress" of that period. A third bed was made between 
the two corner beds by placing four chests side by side. 
These chests contained the wearing apparel, and every time 
an article was needed the bedding had to be removed. The 
stove was in the shape of an oblong box with one large 
griddle in the center of the top ; directly underneath this was 
the oven, and beneath that was the firebox with a wide pro- 
jecting hearth in front, where the hoe cakes were toasted. 
In these crowded, crude, and necessarily unsanitary 



36 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

quarters they cooked, and ate, and slept, and suffered bod- 
ily weakness and pain, though strong in courage and hope; 
while day by day an unseen guest lingered at the cabin 
door, waiting to take to his own abode any who might 
yield to his subtle influence. At last Mr. Lyman, too weak 
and ill further to resist, gave up the fight and Mrs. Lyman, 
who had been an almost helpless invalid for several years 
before coming west, was led to feel that the Lord had 
brought her through all these trials to develop in her a 
stronger, truer womanhood. As one has said of all those 
colonists, "If any were homesick or discouraged it was not 
manifest." They felt that there was a great work before 
them and there must be no turning back. 

Before the winter drew near they were all comfortably 
housed. Mr. Root built a frame house which he and his 
children occupied, together with the families of Mrs. Phelps 
and H. H. May. The cold weather of the autumn of 1836 
found about 175 residents in Log City busily preparing for 
th,e coming winter. 

It is of interest to trace the future career of three of the 
boys of that canal boat company. Of the missionary's 
two little sons, the one who just escaped drowning in the 
Ohio river, became comptroller of the city of New York, 
the other a minister. The negro boy Harry was given into 
the charge of Mr. George Avery, after the death of Mr. Mills. 
The following spring Mr. Avery was taxed for him just the 
same as for other personal property. With his anti-slav- 
ery ideas this was a bitter medicine for him to take; being a 
law-abiding citizen he paid the tax, but saw to it that this 
did not again occur. He sent east and had free papers made 
out for Harry, who thereafter was looked upon as an 
American citizen, instead of being merely a piece of personal 
property. Henry Hitchcock in due time became the son- 
in-law of the Rev. George W. Gale, and was for many years 
a professor in Knox College and later in the University of 
Nebraska, in Lincoln, Neb. Noble Phelps, as he grew to 
mature manhood, acquired large landed interests and de- 
veloped them so skillfully, scientifically and successfully 






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HITHERWARD BY WATER 37 

that his extensive farm, a few miles north of Galesburg, 
successively took the first prize as being the most highly cul- 
tivated and perfectly kept farm in Knox County, and in 
1869 he had the satisfaction of owning the State Premium 
Farm of Illinois. 



CHAPTER VII 

LOG CITY. 

The first settlers found shelter in Henderson Grove at 
a location about three and one-half miles north-west of the 
center of the site of their future city of Galesburg, It will 
be remembered that they purchased three partially im- 
proved farms at the grove, besides the large acreage of 
prairie land. Some of them occupied cabins abandoned by 
Southern settlers, who, within the seven years previous, 
had fringed the grove with a tier of farms ; some waited 
till the cabins were finished, which they set about erecting 
as soon as possible after their arrival. Some of the young 
men slept in corn cribs belonging to the cabins, and during 
the summer months, as new arrivals came from time to time, 
the younger people were housed in booths and tents made 
of boughs, while the long, care-free summer days were 
happily spent in wandering through the woods and explor- 
ing the deep ravines in which that locality abounds. 

The hand of time, the natural changes taking place in 
the appearance of the country in seventy-five years, and 
the processes of cultivation have obliterated almost every 
vestige of that historic settlement. Its exact location may 
be found, however, by following the extension of Hender- 
son street north-west to the road on the section line turn- 
ing west a few rods sonth of the southern entrance to Lin- 
coln Park. 

After passing what is known throughout the coun- 
try-side as the old Peter Frans farm, named for a Ken- 
tucky settler of renown in those days, one comes upon col- 
ony ground ; for, scattered here and there all along the way 
to the next section line running south at a right angle to 
this road, were the cabins of the colonists. They were 
mostly to be found on what is known as the old Gros- 

(38) 



LOG CITY 39 

cup farm lying south of the present road, which, however, 
was not the highway at that time. Just across the present 
north and south road, bounding the Groscup farm on the 
west, and upon a considerable elevation where now is an 
old family burying plot called the "Lewis burying ground," 
stood Colton's store and several of the cabins.* 

This cluster of cabins has been known in the history of 
the colonists as "Log City" — a name revered and hon- 
ored in the hearts of all true and loyal descendants of the 
founders. For they were the first homes of the founders, 
and all who occupied these rude structures having cast 
their lot with the colonists during the first two years of the 
history of the settlement, whether of the first or last com- 
pany to arrive upon the ground, were as truly the "Found- 
ers of the College, the Church and the Town" as were 
those whose names appeared upon the original subscrip- 
tion list at the time the plan of the enterprise was adopted. 
In confirmation of this statement we quote from the Hon. 
W. Selden Gale, who said: 

"With them (the colonists who first began to arrive at the 
purchase) came friends, who, pleased with the scheme, joined 
in. Others from New York came in, and a company from 
Vermont, headed by Matthew Chambers and Erastus Swift, 
looking for homes in the West, were attracted to the colony 
and became part of it." 

Of the settlement in general Professor Churchill, in one 
of his historical papers, says : 

"These cabins stood in the edge of the grove surrounded 
by hazel brush and other undergrowth; some visible to the 
passerby on the main road that followed along the grove, 
meandering in and out, as the lay of the land or the spurs of 
the encircling grove seemed to demand, while others were 
effectually hidden from sight by the bushes." 

"It would astonish a modern builder to examine one of these 
mansions. Some of them were built without so much as a 



♦Colton's store is said to have been an 8x10 building, with a varied 
assortment of goods displayed in this small space. But about this 
nucleus he gathered a fortune which made him one of the wealthiest 
men in the county. 



40 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

single nail or pane of glass in the entire structure ; log walls 
were chincked with mud ; outside chimney constructed of sticks 
and clay with upper aperture so large as not only to give egress 
to the smoke but ingress to the light when the cabin door was 
shut ; door made of split boards fastened with wooden pins 
to a wooden frame that swung upon wooden hinges ; a punch- 
eon floor and roof covered with shakes held down by heavy log 
riders. The furniture was at first as rude as the cabins. Boxes, 
barrels and short logs were the chairs, a larger box the table, 
and a one-post bedstead in one corner as the sleeping place for 
the honored guest. But it was passing strange how quickly, 
under the good taste and deft fingers of the ladies of the 
colony, these cabins took on a cosy air and an appearance of 
refinement and beauty." 

One reason for the utter crudeness of their furniture and 
their lack of household conveniences of all kinds was the fact 
that their goods were shipped by water and were delayed 
many weeks after they themselves had arrived on the scene. 

One of the original doors, "made of split boards, fastened 
by wooden pins to a wooden frame," to which Professor 
Churchill referred, was, until about two years since, doing 
service on a corn crib on the farm of John Watters, not far 
from the site of Log City. 

While thus busily attending to the supply of their ma- 
terial and physical requirements their spiritual needs were 
not disregarded, for regularly on the Sabbath day they gath- 
ered for religious worship. Before the arrival of Dr. Gale 
and Father Waters, one of the men of the company read a 
sermon and conducted the regular church service. When 
the ministers were present one or the other of them 
preached. 

The log cabin of Hugh Conger has the distinction of 
having been the first meeting-house of the colonists, it be- 
ing more commodious than some of the others, as was nec- 
essary for his family of seven children. But very soon a 
more commodious and comfortable building was provided, 
which was designed for both church and school purposes. 
This was a two-roomed building, with a wide door be- 
tween the rooms, in which the speaker stood so as to be 
readily seen and heard. It was constructed of split timbers 



LOG CITY 41 

covered with split shakes, floored with split boards, and, 
when the saw-mill began to run, ceiled upon the inside with 
rough bass-wood boards, and the space between the clap- 
boards and the ceiling filled with saw-dust. 

Professor Churchill says that "it would not be much out 
of the way to say that in this very building the first session 
or term of Knox College was held, with Professor N. H. 
Losey as principal and Miss Lucy Gay as assistant." 

To the regular Sabbath service were added the regular 
weekly meeting for prayer and conference, which was in- 
tended for all, and also a meeting for the women, and one 
for the young people. The house was always crowded on 
the Sabbath, for the congregation was made up, not only of 
the colonists, but also of the Southern settlers along the 
edge of the grove, to whom, as Professor Churchill again 
says : 

"This irruption of Yankees was a regular God-send in 
the way of relieving the monotony of their isolated life, and 
furnishing themes for thought and means of development." 

Here also was held a series of revival meetings that first 
winter, which resulted in the conversion of the most of the 
young people of the colony. 

During the first winter an anti-slavery society was or- 
ganized, said to be the first one in the state. Its president 
was Samuel Hitchcock, one of the three brothers, excellent 
and substantial young men, who, with their widowed 
mother, had cast their lot with the colony. The organiza- 
tion of this society at the beginning of their life as a com- 
munity was the initial illustration of the fact that, from the 
very first, the colonists took high and unequivocal ground 
on the great questions of reform which have agitated the 
nation. Not only the original colony, but the succeeding 
early settlers were of one heart and one mind in this re- 
spect. They had the courage of their convictions and they 
carried their principles into practice. 

In those early days the clause prohibiting the sale of 
liquors, in every title deed of real estate sold by the colony, 
was strictly enforced, under penalty of forfeiture to the 



42 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

college in case that condition was violated. In those days, 
too, total abstinence from intoxicating drinks and opposi- 
tion to slavery — "twin relics of barbarism," as these were 
then considered — were made a condition of church mem- 
bership. 

All these matters, which were of such vital interest to 
the colonists, occupied the passing days, the winter prov- 
ing to be an extremely busy one and drawing to its close 
almost before they were aware. Preparations had been 
made during the winter months for fencing their farms, 
building their houses, and for other necessary improve- 
ments in the new village on the prairie which they were to 
begin to occupy the coming spring and summer. But while 
still residents in the log cabins in the grove, the final steps 
must be taken toward their organization upon a substan- 
tial, legal, business basis. They must organize their church 
and secure a charter for their college. And so we are led up 
to the events of the first Founders' Day. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE FIRST FOUNDERS' DAY. 

February 15, 1837, witnessed the dawn of the first 
"Knox Founders' Day ;" but its observance was very diff er- 
erent from that to which we have been accustomed in re- 
cent years. There was no gathering of the Knox Alumni 
with banquets, brilliant oratory, artistic music interspersed 
with college yells ; for as yet there were no alumni to ban- 
quet, no inspiring themes upon which to lavish the gifts of 
wit, wisdom, and repartee, no students to give enthusiastic 
expression to an exuberance of the "college spirit," no 
trained artists from the Knox Conservatory of Music to 
give delight with their songs. There was no "whirlwind 
finish of an endowment campaign," for as yet there was 
nothing to finish ; it was only the beginning of things. 

The day came and went just like other days to the 
world at large, but to the little colony at Log City it was 
full of import and significance, for it was signalized by the 
granting of a written instrument to a body of men, which 
authorized them to organize and incorporate an institution 
of learning under the name of the "Knox Manual Labor 
College." And by a significant coincidence, February 15, 
1837, was also the day on which the first steps were taken 
to bring the First Church of Galesburg into being as an or- 
ganized ecclesiastical body. For the completion of the new 
building, which was used for both "meeting-house" and 
school-house, had led to definite steps toward the organiza- 
tion of a church. 

Throughout the winter the college had been receiving, 
as it always did receive, the best thoughts of its founders, 
and plans were perfected for having it incorporated. On 
January 27, 1837, the trustees had met and appointed James 
Knox and Nehemiah West as a committee to secure a 

(43) 



44 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

charter. These gentlemen at once went to Vandalia, then 
the capital of Illinois, and applied for the charter which, 
after due process of law, was granted. The Board of Trus- 
tees was remodeled by dropping from the list the names of 
those who had decided not to come west, or who had died, 
and by adding to it the names of Matthew Chambers, John 
G. Sanborn, George H. Wright, of Bowling Green, Erastus 
Swift, William Holyoke, Peter Butler, of Coldwater, and 
Ralph H. Hurlbut, of Mount Sterling. 

The charter was not granted until the 15th of February. 
On that date also a meeting was held, the Rev. John Wat- 
ers presiding, at which it was resolved : 

"1st. That it is expedient as soon as practical to form a 
church in this place. 

2d. That it is expedient for the sake of becoming better 
acquainted with each other's Christian character to have 
each one give an account of the reason of his hope, those 
who present letters as well as those who design for the first 
time to make a profession of religion." 

And so the college and the church became active and 
recognized factors in the life of the community on the same 
day, as the Hon. W. S. Gale says: "They were twins, and 
in their early history they were one and inseparable, de- 
voted to a common cause, laboring for each other, sharing 
the common burdens and rejoicing together over the com- 
mon successes." 

As soon as practicable in the spring of 1837, the colo- 
nists began to move onto the prairie. The first house 
erected within the present city limits was the one known 
as the old William Holyoke house which stood on the lot 
now occupied by the Matthews block between Prairie and 
Kellogg streets and north of Main street. Other houses 
sprang up on the prairie during the summer into which the 
families moved, leaving their log cabins to be occupied by 
the later arrivals of the season of 1837. Those, however, 
who were the first to reach Log City, were the last to leave 
it, remaining till the spring of 1838. During their last sea- 
son in the grove these families were frequently visited by 




MATTHEW CHAMBERS 
' One of the first merchants in Gales- 
burg; an influential member of the 
Board of Trustees. 



EDWARD P. CHAMBERS 

Son of Matthew Chambers, gradu- 
ated from the College in 1852, whose 
large collection of material relating to 
the history of the community has been 
of great value in the preparation of 
this book. 




JOHN G. SANBORN 
Of Knoxville, Treasurer of the Board. 
Meetings of the Trustees were at first 
held in Knoxville. 



WILLIAM HOLYOKE 
Who was made a member of the 
Board in 1837. 



THE FIRST FOUNDERS' DAY 45 

bands of Indians on their way to new reservations, and it is 
recorded that on the occasion of one of these visitations an 
Indian brave picked up the infant Mary Allen West, who 
was lying on the cabin floor, and marched off with her. If 
he had not been open to conviction, Galesburg and Knox 
College would have lost an important and valuable histori- 
cal factor. But he finally yielded to entreaties and returned 
her to her anxious mother. 

The season of 1838 found Log City practically abandon- 
ed, the inhabitants having moved into the little frame 
dwellings on the prairie. A log house, so far as is known 
the only one in the village, was erected in the block now 
bounded by Seminary, Kellogg, Grove and North streets. 
This was occupied at first by Mr. Gale. A grove of locust 
trees was planted about it, and as they grew to a suitable 
size for shade "Gale's Grove" was used for out-of-door 
gatherings such as picnics, Fourth of July celebrations and 
the like. Later, Mr. Gale built the house now known as 
the Tryon home on the corner of North and Cherry streets. 
Back of this house also was a locust grove known as Gale's 
Grove, which was used for picnics and mass meetings of 
various kinds. This was the scene of a disastrous event, 
when, as practically the entire community was gathered for 
a great picnic, the heavens were opened and a rain storm, 
amounting almost to a cloudburst, poured down upon 
them, bringing destruction to lunch baskets, new hats and 
freshly "done-up" summer dresses, grief to the hearts of the 
children and consternation to those of their elders. It is 
thought by some of the older residents that these two 
groves were parts of a whole which originally extended over 
the area included within the boundaries of Seminary, 
Cherry, Grove and North streets, the entire tract being 
probably the property of Mr. Gale. 

Mention has been made of a frame house which Riley 
Root built in the early fall of 1836. When the homes at 
"the grove" were abandoned for the new homes on the 
prairie, this house was placed upon sleds, and in that way 
removed to the village and located at the northwest corner of 



46 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Main and Cherry streets, in the block now occupied by the 
Farmers and Mechanics' bank, the Rearick hardware store, 
etc. 

By the close of 1837 there was a community numbering 
232. Of these 175 came in 1836, and fifty-seven in 1837. Be- 
sides these there were at least two families belonging- to the 
original colony who settled elsewhere. Mr. Thomas Gilbert 
settled in Knoxville and Mr. Isaac Wetmore in Ontario. 
But the colonists of 1836 and 1837 were the original "Old 
Settlers" and these were they, who, building themselves into 
the structure of the college, the church and the community, 
won for themselves the honored and honorable title of "The 
Founders." 

Their loyalty, self-sacrifice and devotion to those three 
interests so near to their hearts — either to each or to all of 
them might well have been summed up in these words : 

"Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears, 
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears. 
Are all with thee, are all with thee!" 

But to return to that feature of the first Founders' Day 
which has to do with the organization of the church. We 
have referred to the causes which led up to a definite step 
in that direction; and in noting the proceedings connected 
with its consummation we again draw upon Professor 
Churchill who gives so clear and concise a statement of the 
lengthy and somewhat complicated process that portions of 
it are well worth using in this narrative. It will be remem- 
bered that on the 15th of February the colonists adopted res- 
olutions which committed them to the speedy prosecution of 
their purpose. Professor Churchill says : "On February 
17th (two days afterward) a deeply solemn and interesting 
meeting was held at which thirty-one persons presented 
their letters and gave an account of their religious life." On 
February 21st, the experience meeting was concluded and 
a meeting was held to consider what should be the denomi- 
national connections of the church. Of this meeting Profes- 
sor Hitchcock (himself a Presbyterian), says: "The two 
denominations most largely represented were the Presby- 



THE FIRST FOUNDERS' DAY 47 

terian and Congregational. The utmost freedom for expres- 
sions of opinions and preference was given. I particularly 
remember the attitude taken by the Congregationalists, and do 
not remember any diversity of opinion which was, that, al- 
though their preferences were Congregational, yet they rec- 
ognized the fact that the enterprise of founding Galesburg 
was conceived mainly by Presbyterians and for that reason 
they thought the church about to be formed should be of that 
denomination. They simply conceded this to be a matter of 
Christian fairness." 

On February 25th a confession of faith and a covenant 
were presented, duly considered and approved. On Feb- 
ruary 26th Rev. G. W. Gale preached in the morning, and the 
afternoon was occupied in formally adopting the confession 
of faith and covenant and in the administration of baptism 
and the Lord's supper. Sixty-four united with the church by 
letter and eighteen by confession. Rev. G. W. Gale was the 
first pastor, but was often assisted by Father Waters. 

In the autumn of 1837 so many had moved out to their 
farms or to the village upon the prairie that the church alter- 
nately held services at the grove and in Matthew Chambers' 
store building which stood on the east side of the public 
square at the southeast corner of Main street. 

Late in the fall of 1838 the first Academy building was 
finished and occupied. It stood where the First National 
Bank building now stands, on the northeast corner of Main 
and Cherry streets. The old building is still standing. Years 
ago it was moved farther north to about the middle of the 
block on Cherry street and was at first used as a private 
residence, and later as a boarding house. This historic 
structure should be identified and marked in some appro- 
priate way. 

With the Academy building completed and occupied by 
an academic department of forty students and a corps of 
teachers it began to look as if Mr. Gale's great idea was 
about to be realized. The college had experienced its be- 
ginning. And since it could not spring into being fully 
equipped it must first be established upon a foundation. 



48 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

That foundation was the preparatory school, the Acad- 
emy. The first freshman class was ready to enter upon 
the regular college curriculum in the fall of 1841. In due 
time this class would pass through the different years of 
the course of study, would receive a degree, and the idea 
would have materialized into a college. This notable event 
took place in 1846, when, under the administration of Presi- 
dent Jonathan Blanchard, the first class of nine young men 
was graduated. 

The first faculty of the college was composed of five in- 
dividuals. They were the following: 

Rev. Hiram H. Kellogg, President; Rev. George W. 
Gale, Acting Professor of Languages; Nehemiah H. Losey, 
A. M., Professor of Mathematics and Natural Science; 
James H. Smith, A. B., Tutor; Miss Julia Chandler, Precep- 
tress of the Female Department. 

Meanwhile, the church had for the first time, conven- 
ient and commodious quarters in which to worship. 

The occupancy of this new building for all the gather- 
ings of the church was followed by a great religious awak- 
ening. Rev. G. W. Gale occupied the pulpit at that time 
and his preaching was "characterized by unusual spiritual 
earnestness and power." The religious interest was espec- 
ially manifest in the young people's meeting which had 
been established. About a year afterward at the closing of 
the school year another revival took place. Daily meetings 
were held among the students, which were well attended, 
and marked by deep religious feeling. The meetings were 
kept up after the close of the school, being held an hour or 
more each morning, farmers living near leaving their work 
to attend. At the close of this series of meetings, the 
church membership had been increased by the addition of 
fifty-eight names and its moral power greatly strengthened. 

In 1839 or 1840 the first public school-house was built 
under the direction of C. S. Colton, and it could boast of 
one feature of the most approved and up-to-date type. The 
floor was inclined from the front to the rear of the room, 
so that the teacher, seated or standing by his desk at the 




THE ACADEMY 

This building, on the north east corner of Main and Cherry Streets, was first 
occupied for school and church purposes in 1838. 




The Academy building as it stands on Cherry Street, just north of Main Street. 




ELI lARNIIAM 
The first teacher in the first public school building in Galesburg, and for 
many years Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Knox College. 




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NORMAN CHURCHILL MRS. NORMAN CHURCHILL 

Parents of Professor George Churchill; residents of Galesburg at an early day. 



THE FIRST FOUNDERS' DAY 49 

further end of the room could easily supervise the deport- 
ment of the pupils. Tradition also says that the boys and 
girls during the intervals of relief from the rigors of such 
supervision found it a capital place to slide down hill be- 
tween the seats. 

Among the many who held rule in this building from 
1840 to 1850 were Eli Farnham, who had the distinction 
of being the first teacher in the first public school in Gales- 
burg; James H. Noteware, a son-in-law of C. S. Colton, 
and afterwards superintendent of public schools for Kan- 
sas ; Marshall DeLong, one of the most popular and suc- 
cessful teachers of the early day in this vicinity; George 
Churchill, prince of teachers from the very beginning of his 
long career in the school and class-room; and Henry S. 
McCall, the father of Miss Ida McCall, herself honored and 
beloved in the hearts of many successive classes of Knox 
Academy students. 

Mr. McCall afterward became a teacher in the South, 
where he remained until his death. With the assistance of 
his young wife, Mrs. Sara Miller McCall, he undertook the 
charge of an academy near Vicksburg, Miss., where they 
fitted students to enter the sophomore year in college. Mr. 
McCall taught Greek and Latin, and Mrs. McCall taught 
mathematics and other subjects. After the death of her 
husband she came to Galesburg with her two little daugh- 
ters, Ida and Rosa. For many years she filled a large and 
influential place as teacher both in the Galesburg High 
School and in Knox Academy. The elder daughter devel- 
oped into a teacher of Latin of superior talent and ability, 
and the younger daughter became a most talented musi- 
cian. The Rosa McCall scholarship for the benefit of wor- 
thy pupils in the Knox Conservatory of Music is a monu- 
ment to her memory and to her musical talent, and is a 
loving tribute from her mother and her sister, Ida. Thus 
the lives of this entire family have entered into the life of 
our college and our public schools with a permanent and 
beneficent influence. 

In the year 1911 a beautiful new public school building 



so SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

was erected upon the site of a fine apple orchard once be- 
longing to the Farnham homestead on Farnham street. It 
was named the Farnham school because of its location, and 
in memory of the first teacher of the first public school in 
Galesburg. 




MRS. KATHARINE WEST 
Mother of Mary Allen West. 



MARY ALLEN WEST 
Born in Log City, July 31, 1837. 




ABIGAIL PRENTICE MARTIN 
It was her son, little Charles Pren- 
tice, whose injury during the journey 
is described in the text. 



SAMANTILV WRKELER ANDERSON 
Her daughter, Fidelia Wheeler, was 
born in Log City, November 22, 1836 — 
the first child born in the Colony. 



Women of the Colony. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE WOMEN OF THE COLONY. 

Frequent mention has been made of the men of the 
colony and the part which they took in its affairs. 

Their personality has become familiar to us as they 
have been brought to our notice as members of important 
committees, leaders of various movements for the up- 
building of the enterprise, as officers in the college and the 
church and as leaders and participants in the life of the 
new community. Their names recur again and again 
throughout this narrative; and justly so, for were they not 
the "Founders and Patriots," the "Captains of Industry," 
"the Kings of Commerce" in this little community? 

But what of the women of the colony? Did they not 
bear an equal share in it all, in their own sphere and in 
their own way? A thousand times Yes! For every true 
and loyal descendant of the founders cannot but regard the 
pioneer women of Galesburg with reverence and even with 
awe, because of their heroic sacrifices, their sterling 
womanly virtues, and their lofty ideals; all of which were 
wrought into the warp and woof of their daily life. For 
were they not molded after the fashion of heroines and 
martyrs? Had it been otherwise they would have quailed 
before the prospect which confronted them and would have 
yielded to the stress of circumstances which many times 
threatened to overwhelm them. The word failure did not 
occur in their vocabulary, and to shrink in the presence of 
hardships, obstacles and grief was to them an unknown 
principle of action. So firm was their conviction that they 
had undertaken a work ordained of God and rich in its 
promise of fulfillment that their heroic creed might have 
been summed up in these words : 

(SI) 



52 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

"For right is right since God is God, 
And right the day must win; 

To doubt would be disloyalty, 
To falter would be sin." 
In referring to the pioneer women of Galesburg we in- 
clude in this narrative those only who came in the years 
1836 and 1837, and who, after a long and wearisome journey 
overland, or by way of canal, lake, and rivers, first found 
shelter in the log cabins in the edge of Henderson Grove. 
In this group of cabins known to us as Log City they lived, 
these women who had left pleasant and comfortable, and 
in some cases even luxurious homes, in New York and New 
England. And then, leaving the rude cabins of one, or at 
the most two rooms, under the protecting arms of the great 
trees of the forest primeval, they moved out into the small 
primitive frame houses, to do their part toward the found- 
ing of a college, a church and a town in the midst of a vast 
expanse of treeless, shrubless, trackless prairie ! 

If there were homesick hearts in the rude log cabins 
under the shelter of the great forest trees, what were the 
possibilities upon the open out-stretching prairie under the 
fierce glare of an unveiled summer sun; or when on the 
far-distant horizon an unbroken line of lurid light pro 
claimed the approach of the angry billows of flame which 
oft-times left death and destruction in their path, — resist- 
less in their sweep save for the united, desperate efforts of 
all the inhabitants within their reach? Grand and awful in 
its aspect and in its destructive fury is the onward rush of 
a prairie fire! Or what were the still greater possibilities 
when the frowning, ominous storm-cloud, black and fear- 
ful with the portent of a western tornado, rose upon their 
unobstructed view ; or when the many miles of far-reaching 
plains lay in the icy clasp of the long winter; dazzling, mon- 
otonous, exasperating in its dreary whiteness? 

But were there homesick hearts in that little circle of 
heroic women? Have we taken too much for granted in 
our present-day estimate of that which is required to se- 
cure true happiness and contentment? The testimony of 



THE WOMEN OF THE COLONY S3 

at least one of that company was that she did not know 
a homesick moment from the hour that she left her child- 
hood home on the shores of the picturesque Cazenovia 
Lake in central New York, throughout the tedious over- 
land journey of six weeks and on through the varied experi- 
ences of those first trying years. Material resources and 
physical strength might indeed fail them. Long weeks of 
suffering and long hours of sorrow might be their portion 
instead. Lonely widowhood and bereft motherhood might 
confront some of them at the very threshold of their new 
home, but the strong heart, the indomitable spirit, and the 
faith, firm in its trust in an over-ruling Providence, sus- 
tained them amidst it all. 

And the marvel of it is all the greater when we call to 
mind the fact that the most of these conspicuous examples 
of womanly fortitude were not aged saints who had been 
tried and tempered in the crucible of a long life of discipline, 
but that the most of them were comparatively young, in 
the beginning of their married life, with their families not 
yet about them to engage their thought and efifort and thus 
relieve the loneliness. Some of them had not yet joined 
hands with the companions with whom they were to jour- 
ney in the years to come, and almost all of them were 
looking into the future from the standpoint of young 
womanhood. Situated in some degree as were the Pilgrims 
of Plymouth it may be said of them as has been said of the 
men and women of the Mayflower : "No, not one looked back, 
who had set his hand to this ploughing." But did they look for- 
ward with a vision clear enough to discern the scene which to- 
day would meet their gaze? What a reward and delight it 
would have been to them to see upon that unbroken prairie the 
city of the present, the wonderful answer to their toil and 
prayers ! 

It will be recalled that the religious element was a prom- 
inent factor in the daily life of the colonists, who were the 
most of them professing Christians. Besides the general 
meetings of the church, the women had their prayer-meet- 
ings, two each week, one for the married and one for the 



54 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

unmarried women. There were also a woman's organiza- 
tion called the "Maternal Association," and a sewing so- 
ciety. A "Female Moral Reform Society" was also organ- 
ized which was auxiliary to a society by that name located 
in New York City, and which published a paper called "The 
Advocate of Moral Reform and Family Guardian." It 
was known familiarly in the homes by the shorter 
name of: "The Advocate," and its weekly arrival was 
looked forward to with interest. This "Maternal Associa- 
tion" should be accorded the distinction of being the first 
Woman's Club in Galesburg, and there were no distinctions 
or restrictions limiting its membership, for all who would 
might share in its duties and privileges. While they had 
no printed programs, they kept a record of the meetings and 
a list of the members. Its membership list included old 
colony family names, familiar as household words in the 
homes of Galesburg: 

Allen, Avery, Bartlett, Bascom, Bergen, Blanchard, 
Bunce, Chambers, Chappell, Churchill, Colton, Conger, 
Dunn, Farnham, Ferris, Finch, Gale, Gay, Goodell, Ham- 
blin, Harding, Hitchcock, Holyoke, Kellogg, Kendall, King, 
Losey, Lyman, Marsh, Martin, May, McMullen, Mills, 
Payne, Phelps, Prentice, Sanderson, Simmons, Skinner, 
Stanley, Swift, Tompkins, Tyler, Waters, West, Wheeler, 
Willcox, Williams, and many others whose character and 
personality are wrought into the early history of this city. 

It would be an injustice to the other women to mention 
any one of them in terms of especial honor and apprecia- 
tion. For theirs was a common experience and each one 
of them in her own especial sphere, and in her own way 
was a heroine. 

And yet perhaps to Mrs. Clarissa Phelps, a widow with 
very limited means, it was given to perform more especial 
personal services in certain needful and very practical ways, 
than to some others who had greater resources at their com- 
mand. Her home was located on the northwest corner of 
Main and Cherry streets, about where Rearick's hardware 
store now stands. Being located in the very center of the 




MRS. WILJLIAM HOLYOKE 



MRS. FIDELIA A. BERGEN 





MRS. EUNICE ADAMS GOODELL MRS. MARTHA WILLIAMS 

Women of the Colony. 




MRS. WILLIAM FERRIS 



AIRS. HENRY WILLCOX 




MRS. JOHN WATERS 
("Mother" Waters) 



MRS. MATTHEW CHAMBERS 



Women of the Colony. 



THE WOMEN OF THE COLONY SS 

village, it was the rallying point for gatherings of all kinds, 
and a convenient resting place for any who for various rea- 
sons might be detained in that vicinity. Of a generous 
and hospitable nature, her doors were ever open to any who 
wished to make a convenience of her house. Keys were left 
in her care while the owners of nearby stores went home to 
dinner. Packages were left with her to be called for by oth- 
ers. Babies were left to sleep on her bed while the tired 
mothers, seeking a brief respite, slipped into the church serv- 
ice in the Academy building across the street east of her. 
Babies which disturbed the church service by crying and 
fretfulness were taken to her home to be quieted. The 
women's prayer meetings, "Maternal meetings," and 
"Moral Reform Society" meetings were held in this home 
quite often and while "Mother" Waters prayed frequently, 
fervently and fluently, Mrs. Phelps labored no less zealously 
to provide comfortable seats and a cordial welcome for the 
women who gathered there. 

On two different occasions Mrs. Phelps saved the village 
from destructive fires. She was a great sufferer from 
asthma, and not being able to sleep throughout the night 
she frequently sat at her window or walked about the house 
while the village slept. One night when looking through 
an east window she discovered a light in the Academy 
building across the street. Going across to investigate she 
found that, after a meeting there the previous evening, a 
candle had been left burning in one of the wooden sockets 
attached to the wall — their primitive method of lighting the 
building. The candle had burned down to the socket and 
was kindling the adjacent wood when Mrs. Phelps discov- 
ered it and saved the building. Across the street south of 
her on the corner, where now may be found the National 
Clothing Store, the Harrison Studio, etc., stood the hotel of 
the village, the Galesburg House. Looking in that direc- 
tion one night Mrs. Phelps saw that a fence in the back 
yard of the hotel, and reaching up to the building, was on 
fire, kindled from a pile of rubbish that had been burned the 
evening before. She aroused the keeper of the hotel and so 



56 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

averted a conflagration, for a fire in those days when there 
were no efficient means of extinguishing it was pretty sure 
to prove disastrous. But each one of these pioneer women 
laid strong and lasting foundations "over against her own 
house," and each one of them "builded better than she 
knew." 

In the days of the early struggles of Knox College all 
the homes of the village were opened to the students and 
they became a part of the family, sharing in its labors, hav- 
ing common interests and common aims. For the interests 
and the efforts of all were centered in Knox College and the 
purpose of every household was to labor for its support at 
any cost of toil or sacrifice. So much at home and really a 
part of the home life were these students coming from all 
parts of the state for the educational advantages which the 
new college offered, that the influence of the Christian 
home atmosphere which then surrounded them remained 
with them throughout the years. Even down to the present 
time aged men and women give grateful expression to their 
appreciation of the charm, the power and permanence of 
these influences. The Mistress of the home in those days, 
be she young, or older, was affectionately called "Mother," 
then, and thereafter, by those students who came under her 
fostering care. A man of four score years now living in 
Washington, D. C, still refers to the mother of the home in 
which he lived as a student, as "my dear Mother F ." 

A few extracts from the Journal of Mrs. Farnham to 
which reference was made in a preceding chapter will give a 
touch of local and personal coloring to the record of their 
experiences. Here is the record for the first Sunday which 
the company arriving in June, 1837, spent with the colony : 

"Sunday, June 25th, 1837. 
"Attended church. Found a large and respectable con- 
gregation. Heard good preaching from Mr. Gale. A meet- 
ing of the society to consult upon hiring Mr. Gale as a reg- 
ular preacher is appointed for to-morrow evening; also an 
anti-slavery prayer meeting, a Wednesday evening prayer 
meeting, and a Church Conference on Saturday. We are 



THE WOMEN OF THE COLONY 57 

very near to the house occupied for school and church pur- 
poses, and find it very convenient to attend." 

Here is the entry for July 4th, from which we learn how 
these serious minded and purposeful people celebrated their 
first Independence Day on colony ground : 

"July 4th, 1837. 

"To-day we have attended an interesting meeting; list- 
ened to appropriate remarks by Mr. Gale, after which an 
Anti-Slavery Society, auxiliary to the American Anti-Slav- 
ery Society, was formed. One of the resolutions adopted was : 
That one hundred dollars be raised for the anti-slavery 
cause." 

Truly a generous subscription from those people of lim- 
ited resources in the days of the beginning of things here ! 

"August 10th, 1837. 
"A day of fasting and prayer. Arose and went to prayer 
meeting at sunrise. A good meeting. At 10 o'clock reli- 
gious services again in the school house." 

"Sabbath, August 13th, 1837. 
"Sermon by Mr, Gale to parents. Text : Train up a child 
in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not de- 
part from it." 

"Sabbath, August 20th, 1837. 
"Deprived of preaching to-day, Mr. Gale detained at home 
in consequence of Mrs. Gale's illness." 

Friday, August 25th. 
"Last night watched with Mrs. Gale, who is very sick. 
She has a fine healthy son three weeks old." 

This son, Joseph Dudley Gale, has the distinction of be- 
ing the first boy born to the colony. 

"Sabbath, August 27th. 
"Mr. Gale preached to-day to the children from the 5th 
commandment: 'Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother,' etc. 
An excellent sermon." 

It would seem that the arrival of the infant son in Mr. 
Gale's family had led him to the choice of the texts of his 
sermons for the last two Sabbaths, which suggested the 
mutual obligations of parents and children. 



58 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

One more extract from the diary will be made because 
of historic names which occur in it : 

"Tuesday Evening, Nov. 14, 1837. 
"Mrs. Lyman, Mrs. Sanderson, Mrs. West and a few oth- 
ers of us have been in this afternoon to assist one of our 
neighbors, Mrs. Conger, in sewing. She has been unable to 
do any for a long time. She has a large family." 

That was the family of nine: father, mother and seven 
children who came with the first arrivals in June, 1836. The 
name of Conger calls to mind a numerous and prominent 
family of the early day. And, although the affiliations of 
the most of them were with Lombard rather than with 
Knox College, yet Galesburg itself was honored in the fact 
that one of her citizens, the Hon. Edwin H. Conger, repre- 
sented the United States as Minister to China, and did wise 
and valiant service for his country and for the world during 
the horrors of the Boxer uprising in 1900, 

Another name is that of Mrs. West, the mother of Mary 
Allen West of distinguished service and of world-wide fame. 
It was Mary Allen West who, true to the traditions of her 
birth and early training, became the apostle of temperance 
reform and, being commissioned as round-the-world mis- 
sionary of the National Woman's Christian Temperance 
Union, made an almost triumphal progress until she reached 
far-off Japan and there laid down her life for the cause 
which she had espoused. 

Mary Allen West graduated from Knox College at the 
age of seventeen in the class of 1855. Her name and her 
personality are inseparably interwoven with the life of 
Galesburg, the college, the city and county schools, espec- 
ially during the first fifty years of their history. Her career 
was so unusual and so distinguished that she should be held 
in especial honor and remembrance. 

Still another name in the entry for November 14th, 1837, 
is that of Mrs. Sanderson. She was the mother of Henry R. 
Sanderson, a graduate of Knox College of the class of 1848, 
and who, ten years after his graduation, as the first mayor 



i 




MRS. MARY A. BLANCHARD MRS. RUTH POMEROY BASCOM 




MRS. C. S. COLTON MRS. ELI FARNHAM 

Women of the Colony. 



THE WOMEN OF THE COLONY 59 

of the city of Galesburg, entertained Abraham Lincoln in 
his own home, which stood on the site of the Public Library- 
building. 

Such is the inadequate portrayal of the sacrifices, the pri- 
vations, and the all-conquering courage of the pioneer 
women of Galesburg. It is to them that much of the credit 
is due for the present high state of development and real 
culture in our city. It is they who with willing hands and 
unfaltering effort have aided in the conquest of the forest 
and the prairie. They have labored and we have "entered 
into their labors." 



CHAPTER X > *^ 

HOW KNOX COLLEGE GREW. 

Having seen our colonists safely established in the tem- 
porary homes in Log City, or the more permanent frame 
houses which sprang up one by one on the prairie, three 
miles distant, let us follow the course of events which mark- 
ed the development of the college and the community from 
that time onward. The church and the college had been 
incorporated as permanent organizations, ready to enter into 
their respective labors in shaping the life and the destinies 
of the community. 

We have seen how diligent in activity and how fervent 
in spirit were the colonists in respect to their obligations to 
their church. Not less so must be the trustees of the col- 
lege in regard to their especial obligations. Their first trus- 
tee meeting was held in Knoxville, August 9, 1837. 

Had they looked forward to the Diamond Jubilee cele- 
bration, seventy-five years thereafter, doubtless the signifi- 
cance of the event would have shaped their plans other- 
wise. Perhaps the meeting would have been held on colony 
ground instead, and they would have gone into secret ses- 
sion in one of the log cabins temporarily vacated for the pur- 
pose. 

This meeting organized with Rev. John Waters as pres- 
ident; Nehemiah H. Losey, as clerk; and John G. San- 
born as treasurer. William Holyoke and Peter Butler 
were added to the Board at this time. We may readily be- 
lieve that at that meeting a part of their thought and plans 
looked toward the necessary building and equipment of 
their new college; for in 1841, four years later, a Ladies' 
Seminary was built. It stood on the east side of Seminary 
street, at the head of Tompkins street. The cupola of this 
building was covered with burnished tin, which glittered in 

(60) 



HOW KNOX COLLEGE GREW 61 

the sunlight and could be seen for miles away, thus attract- 
ing attention to the new village on the prairie. Galesburg's 
distinguished citizen, the Hon. E. P. Williams, once said to 
the writer that when he, as a young lad, saw from his home 
a mile and a half distant that cupola gleaming brightly 
above the horizon, he thought it the most beautiful object on 
earth. 

The cost of this building was $5,000. It was at first 
occupied by the family of Mr. Pardon Sisson, who, through 
the influence of President Kellogg, had come from Clinton, 
New York, to cast his lot with the new enterprise. The fam- 
ily name and influence from that time to the present 
have been a part of the history of our city, our college and 
our public schools. The building also furnished sleeping 
rooms for a number of the students, and storage for Presi- 
dent Kellogg's library and some of his household goods. It 
was destroyed by fire in 1843, but by great efifort President 
Kellogg's library was saved. 

This disaster was a severe blow to the struggling insti- 
tution. It led, however, to the erection of the first building 
on the college campus known then as East College, and 
later familiarly styled "East Bricks." This was built in 
1844. In the following year a companion structure called 
West College or "West Bricks," was built. This building 
was afterward called Williston Hall in recognition of gen- 
erous gifts to the college from Mr. J. P. Williston of North- 
ampton, Mass., this being one of the first noteworthy con- 
tributions to the college endowment. 

In these two buildings, the East and West Bricks, 
were located recitation rooms, offices, society halls, as also 
quarters for about forty students. The Gnothautii Society 
occupied the upper floor of the east building and the Adel- 
phi Society the corresponding rooms of the west building. 

The "dormitories" in these buildings were in long trail- 
ing one-story wings which stretched southward from the 
one and one-half story front building. A number of the 
most distinguished of the sons of Knox began their student 
life in the tiny rooms of one or the other of these buildings. 



62 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Among these may be mentioned S. V. White, New York 
millionaire and generous contributor to his college, a grad- 
uate of the class of 1854; also S. S. McClure, founder and 
editor of McClure's Magazine, benefactor of Knox and 
graduate of the class of 1882. 

In the summer of 1843 Rev. G. W. Gale went east and 
spent some months acting as agent in the interests of the 
college. When he returned in the following year he 
brought with him apparatus costing $800.00 and 1600 vol- 
umes of books for the library. Early in the preceding 
spring President Kellogg went to Europe and while there 
obtained for the college about one thousand dollars in 
money and five hundred dollars' worth of books. 

In 1845 President Kellogg resigned on account of failing 
health, and Rev. Jonathan Blanchard, a pastor of Cincin- 
nati, was chosen his successor. There were enrolled at that 
time 201 students. 

President Blanchard's administration forms one of the 
most memorable and important epochs in the history of the 
college. As has been well said by another: "It was dur- 
ing this period that the foundations were strengthened and 
the future success of the college seemed assured." 

In 1846 a new Academy building was erected on the 
public square. It was a substantial brick structure of two 
stories; the upper story, according to the announcement 
in the catalogue, was designed for the use of the "Female 
Branch." This building was used until 1861, when it was 
leased to the Board of Education — recently organized — for 
the use of the High School. The Academy classes were 
then transferred to the lower north-west room in the main 
college building, and the female department to the Semi- 
nary, now known as Whiting Hall. In 1869 the Academy 
building was torn down to give place to the Union Hotel. 
This was opened to the public in 1871, and was totally de- 
stroyed by fire in 1872. The present building soon rose in 
its place, and, with the exception of occasional interior 
changes and some enlargement, remains as it was built. 

In June, 1846, the first Knox Commencement Day oc- 




o >^ 



re — 
oq ^ 

re — 




I 



HOW KNOX COLLEGE GREW 63 

curred, and a class of nine young men was graduated. Of 
these, five became ministers, two of them foreign mission- 
aries, two physicians, one a professor in college, and one a 
farmer. 

Up to this time the material growth of the church was 
noteworthy for so comparatively brief a period. Early in 
"the forties" it became evident that a "meeting-house" 
must be built. The Academy building, erected in 1838, had 
been found to be entirely too small at times for the gather- 
ing congregations, for in those days everybody attended 
church. The history of the meetings and the discussions 
which were held in planning for the ways and means of 
providing for a new and ample building in those days of 
great privation and rigid economy, forms a most interest- 
ing chapter in the history of the colony, but there 
is not space for it here. But a plan was finally 
adopted for the new building. It was to be sixty feet wide 
by eighty feet long, and twenty-four feet high from floor 
to ceiling. As they sat in the old Academy build- 
ing and discussed and compared dimensions, some thought 
the height overwhelming, for the room in which they were 
assembled measured eight feet "between joists" and twen- 
ty-four feet would be three times as high as that room, 
which would be absurd. The original dimensions were 
finally adopted, and the work commenced. 

After a time, however, for lack of material and money, 
the construction ceased; and for months, lengthening into 
years, the material which had been gathered lay in unsightly 
heaps completely filling the southwest corner of the square 
near the unfinished structure. The result was that the tim- 
bers were badly warped by sun and rain, and the parts al- 
ready erected were splintered by lightning and shaken by 
wind, so that when the work was again taken up it was con- 
tinued with vastly more difficulty and perplexity than would 
at first have been the case. Even at first the problem of 
"raising" the timbers and securely joining the ponderous 
beams of so large a structure, with the primitive appliances 
at hand, was a serious one. The building was finally com- 



64 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

pleted sufficiently to be used for the Commencement exer- 
cises of the college in 1846. It was not wholly enclosed 
and not seated, but temporary seats of rough planks and a 
temporary platform were provided, and there was to be 
still further delay before it was finished. 

This first Commencement was a great occasion, as 
were all the public college functions of that early day. Not 
only did the residents of the village turn out, but also resi- 
dents of all the country-side about, flocked to the church 
for these annual events. Indeed, the college Commence- 
ments during all the first years of its history, were the great 
events to be looked forward to and planned for in the calen- 
dar of the households for miles around. Long processions 
of vehicles might be seen wending their way from every di- 
rection toward that historic First Church, and father, 
mother and children found a place among the throngs that 
packed that great audience room to overflowing. And since 
the exercises continued through the greater part of the day 
and it would be well on toward evening before those in at- 
tendance would return to their homes, lunch baskets were 
brought with them, and the all-day celebration was 
thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed. 

With scarcely an exception the Baccalaureate sermons 
and college addresses of more than half a century were 
there delivered, and college entertainments of all sorts, lit- 
erary, oratorical, forensic, dramatic, musical, and all the rest 
were held there. The intimate relation between the college 
and the church was thus exemplified. This appears also in 
the history of the pastorate of the church. Searching the 
records of the semi-centennial celebration of the old First 
Church we find that during the first decade of its history 
the president and professors of the college supplied the pul- 
pit the most of the time ; and during the entire history of the 
church for the first half century the faculty of Knox College 
supplied the pulpit for more than a third of the time. Dr. 
Gale preached at various times, nearly five years in all ; Pres- 
ident Kellogg more than three years in all ; President 
Blanchard about two and a half years; Professor Willis J. 



HOW KNOX COLLEGE GREW 65 

Beecher more than three years, and Professor H. M. Tyler 
nearly one year. These statistics apply to the pastorate 
of the old First Church before and after the withdrawal 
of the Presbyterians and the organization of their church. 
It is true also of that church, after its separation, that 
its pulpit was often supplied from the college faculty, 
while the pastorates of both churches have been frequently 
and ably represented upon the Board of Trustees of the col- 
lege. As Dr. Thain, pastor and trustee, once remarked: 
"The students of Knox form another bond, uniting church 
and college — a manifold cord which cannot be broken, and 
to which are attached many precious memories." 

The attendance of the students upon the Sabbath servi- 
ces of the church may, or may not, have been compulsory 
in the early day, but at any rate it was universal. It is a 
matter of history that the short seats on either side of the 
platform in the old First Church were reserved for the stu- 
dents, and that at least at one of the services of the day the 
students would file in, in a body, and fill those seats, in full 
view of the entire congregation — a highly interesting spec- 
tacle to the young women in the audience, for it was the 
most natural thing in the world to exchange glances while 
apparently giving respectful attention to the service. In- 
deed, the situation must have been mutually edifying and 
inspiring. 

In 1848, the church edifice having at last been com- 
pleted, arrangements were made to dedicate it on Bacca- 
laureate Sunday of Commencement week. The date was 
June 25. President Blanchard preached the sermon and 
Father Waters offered the dedicatory prayer. It was he 
who, with the other members of the purchasing commit- 
tee, thirteen years before, had kneeled, with uncovered 
head, upon the unbroken prairie, and dedicated the new en- 
terprise to the Lord, imploring His favor and blessing upon 
it, and upon all who in all time to come should be conected 
with it. The momentous events of the intervening years, 
and the impressive and interesting events of that occasion 
were in part an answer to that prayer. 



66 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

One who, as a little child, attended that service, thus 
writes of her impressions : "That solemn act of dedication 
made a profound impression upon my young mind. I still 
remember with what awe I heard the white-haired man 
say: 'We dedicate to thee this pulpit, these pews; yea, 
these windows — even these window blinds' ; as he voiced 
the people's heartfelt act in dedicating to the Lord the build- 
ing which their hearts had devised and their hands had 
builded." 

At two p. m. of the same day Dr. Gale preached the 
Baccalaureate sermon, and at five p. m. Rev. J. B. Walker 
made the address before the Society of Religious Inquiry 
connected with the college. It was truly a strenuous day 
for those who attended the entire series of services. 

Professor Churchill says of this building subsequent to 
its completion and dedication : 

'For many years, as there was no other room in the vil- 
lage so capacious, it was used, not alone for religious meet- 
ings, but for musical concerts, scientific lectures, temper- 
ance lectures, anti-slavery lectures, and conventions and 
mass-meetings held in the interests of any of the great re- 
forms of the day. The most eloquent pulpit and platform 
orators who graced the lecturers' rostrum in the hey-day of 
its glory always found the old First Church ready to give 
them welcome. Among those who have lectured there 
were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edward Everett, Henry Ward 
Beecher, Wendell Phillips, John B. Gough and many others 
of world-wide fame. Many a time have I seen the house so 
crowded on such occasions that it was almost impossible 
for the speaker to make his way up the aisle to the plat- 
form." 

In the years 1849-50 the young women were admitted 
to the privileges of the college course though not, as yet, on 
the co-educational plan, a special department being con* 
ducted for their benefit, and special teachers hired for their 
instruction. The names of fourteen young women appear 
in the catalogue for that year as belonging to this depart- 
ment. In June, 1850, the trustees voted that a "Female 
Collegiate Department" should be organized, with a three 
years' course of study. The school year of this department 





IIKNKY K. HITCHCOCK 

A member of the first class graduated 
from Knox College, 1846. Professor at 
Knox and later at the University of 
Nebraska. 



MARGARET GALE HITCHCOCK 

Daughter of the founder and wife of 
Prof. Hitchcock. A member of the 
first class grad' ated from the Female 
Collegiate Department, 18.51. 




REV. WILLIAM E. IIOLYOKI 



Of the class of '46, and for many 
years member of the Board of Trustees. 
Son of William Ilolyoke. 



HENRY 



SANDERSON 



Of the class of '48, who, while 
Mayor, entertained Abraham Lincoln, 

in 1858. 



HOW KNOX COLLEGE GREW 67 

was to begin on the first Wednesday in February, and close 
with the Commencement of the Female Collegiate Depart- 
ment on the third Wednesday in January. In 1851 three 
young women were graduated from this department — the 
first Knox alumnae. They were Ann Dunn, afterward 
Mrs. Henry R. Sanderson; Sarah Fiske (Mrs. James F. 
Dunn) ; Margaret Gale (Mrs. Henry E. Hitchcock). 

In 1854-55, the construction of the Chicago, Burlington 
& Quincy Railroad through the military tract, and the 
choosing of Galesburg as one of its division points became 
of great benefit to the college. A part of its land was se- 
lected as the site of depots, shops and yards, and the valua- 
tion of adjoining property increased accordingly. The re- 
mainder of the college farm was sold to advantage, a part 
of it as city lots, and a part as acre property, for all of which 
there was a ready sale. In 1855, one year afterward, it was 
estimated that the college property was worth $400,000. 

In 1856 two important buildings were begun which were 
finished in the following year at a cost of $100,000. The 
Central College building as it was then called and afterward 
known as "Old Main," was erected mid-way between the 
East College and West College, or, more familiarly, the 
East Bricks and West Bricks. The other building was the 
central or main part of Whiting Hall, then known as the 
Seminary, facing the beautiful park which then belonged 
to the college, but which was afterward sold to the city in 
order to replenish the depleted college treasury. 

This transaction occurred in 1873, the college convey- 
ing all right and title to its park to the city of Galesburg 
for the consideration of $21,000. In the same year the city 
in its turn conveyed the east half of the park area to Knox 
County on the condition that the county would erect 
thereon the proposed new court house building. 

The Seminary at the time of its erection accommo- 
dated between eighty and ninety young women. At first 
provision was made for recitation rooms, parlors and 
chapel, as well as the rooms necessary to a boarding hall. 
But in later years the recitation rooms were utilized as 



68 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

sleeping rooms and the chapel was changed to the present 
recreation hall. 

In 1857, at the time of the completion of the two build- 
ings above mentioned, the attendance, including all depart- 
ments of the college, reached 446. Of these fifty-nine were in 
the college proper. The population of the town had in- 
creased from 272 in 1840 to 5,455 in 1857. And in the years 
1856 and 1857 new buildings were erected in the town at a 
combined cost of nearly $600,000. 



cu pi 





W o 

I— 1 (U 

f-i o 

U K 



CHAPTER XI 

TROUBLOUS TIMES. 

The third decade in the history of Knox College was 
made memorable by the waging of a bitter controversy be- 
tween the two denominations which were the most largely 
represented in the management and constituency of the col- 
lege — the Presbyterian and Congregational factions. It 
centered about President Blanchard as its rallying point, 
and as it became so fierce as to threaten disaster to the col- 
lege, we deemed it a matter of historical justice to give some 
account of it. 

In an article upon Knox College prepared by Professor 
W. E. Simonds, and to be published the present sea- 
son in a new and complete history of Knox County, Dr. 
Simonds has given so concise and yet comprehensive a re- 
view of what was at that time called "the Blanchard War" 
that we quote, with his permission, therefrom. His state- 
ments may be considered entirely impartial and judicial, as 
his viewpoint is far removed from the time and the occa- 
sion, and his affiliations have always been with another de- 
nomination. He says: 

"Notwithstanding the financial prosperity of the college at 
this period in its history (1857), a serious crisis now occurred. 
A bitter controversy had already developed over the question 
of denominational control. Presbyterians and Congregation- 
alists had been intimately associated in the social and re- 
ligious life of the community. For more than a decade they 
had worshipped harmoniously together in that broadly built 
and spacious meeting house on the square, the historic First 
Church of Galesburg. The official head of the college had 
served at times as minister to the congregation. President 
Kellogg had been installed as pastor in 1846, and Dr. Blanch- 
ard had followed him in the pulpit when he succeeded him in 
the presidency, serving the church for two and a half years. 

(69) 



70 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

But with the expansion of the community jealousies had 
arisen and the quarrel grew so fierce that it threatened to 
disrupt the college 

Jonathan Blanchard was a man of strong convictions, com- 
bative and fearless. During his pastorate in Cincinnati he 
had been a vigorous and out-spoken abolitionist. After his 
removal to Illinois he had dared to meet Stephen A. Douglas 
in public debate and was thought by his friends to have issued 
from the encounter with the honors of the field. His position 
on this great issue of the time could not have been obnoxious 
in Galesburg, but his views on other matters had aroused 
strong opposition among some of the prominent citizens; at 
the same time he had a large and ardent following. 

The core of the quarrel was the denominational issue in 
Knox College, and the two parties, the Presbyterians headed 
by Rev. George W. Gale, and the Congregationalists led by 
President Blanchard, were intensely stirred. The situation 
became acute, and at its annual meeting in June, 1857, the 
Board of Trustees, by a resolution, respectfully requested both 
Dr. Blanchard and Dr. Gale to resign their places in the 
faculty. Both gentlemen immediately complied. 

When this action was announced there was great excite- 
ment. The student body, which was devoted to President 
Blanchard, assembled on the steps of the college building and 
passed resolutions of regret at his departure. Many of the 
undergraduates asked for dismission. The Adelphi and Gno- 
thautii literary societies disbanded, placing their effects in the 
hands of the trustees. Only one of the ten members of the 
graduating class appeared on the Commencement platform to 
deliver his address. 

The "war" continued for many weeks in pulpit, on plat- 
form and in the columns of the local press. It became more 
than a local issue. Letters discussing the situation appeared 
in the Congregational Herald and in the New York Inde- 
pendent and some prominent people were drawn into the 
controversy 

Into the merits of this controversy it is altogether unneces- 
sary to go ; for many years it has been a matter of ancient 
history, and all bitterness of feeling has long since vanished. 
The final result was that Knox College was made independent 
of all denominational control and happily thus remains to this 
day." 

The immediate result of the action of the students was 
that two months afterward, August 21, 1857, the executive 




RESIDENCE OF JONATHAN BLANCHARD, 1857 




A VIEW OF THE CAMPUS 

Showing at the left a portion of East College, the "East Bricks." Appar- 
ently this is the only view extant, that includes either of the earlier builaings. 
From this photograph, however, their position and proportion relative to Old 
Main can be recognized. 




INNES GRANT 
Professor of Ancient Languages. 



HENRY E. HJTC KCOCK 

Professor of Mathematics and Nat- 
ural Philosophy. 





ALBERT HURD 
Profesor of Natural Sciences. 



GEORGE CHURCHILL 
Principal of Academy. 



MEMBERS OF THE FACULTY IN 1858 



TROUBLOUS TIMES 71 

committee published "A circular to the students of Knox 
College." It contains the following statement : 

"The Executive Committee are happy to inform you that 
the causes which led many of you to withdraw from this in- 
stitution are now so far removed as to present no serious ob- 
stacle to your return. PRESIDENT BLANCHARD has con- 
sented to resume his former place in the faculty." 

And finally it says : "It is with peculiar pleasure that we an- 
nounce these arrangements [relating to board, rooms, etc.,] 
which indicate the continued and increasing prosperity of our 
college. It has been a favored institution. But the means of 
its usefulness are now greatly augmented. The trustees have 
the ability and disposition to add something to its educational 
advantages every year until they are complete in every de- 
partment. Let the friends of the college implore for it the 
favor of God and we trust our past trouble will furnish a 
lesson of wisdom for our guidance until these very troubles 
shall be forgotten in the joy of our future prosperity and 
success." 

The optimism of the executive committee, notwithstand- 
ing "these very troubles," was truly refreshing. 

Dr. Blanchard, having consented to resume his place in 
the faculty by invitation of the executive committee, re- 
mained until the close of the school year of 1858. In the 
spring previous to this Rev. Harvey Curtis, D. D., was 
elected president by the trustees. This may have been a 
concession to the Presbyterian element, as Dr. Curtis was 
a staunch Presbyterian, while Dr. Blanchard was just as 
pronounced in his Congregational principles. 

We quote again from Dr. Simonds: 

"The catalogue published in June, 1858, presents some 
facts which are interesting for comparison. The faculty was 
composed as follows: Rev. Harvey Curtis, D. D., president- 
elect and professor of intellectual philosophy ; Nehemiah H. 
Losey, professor of mathematics and natural philosophy ; Innes 
Grant, professor of ancient languages ; Henry E. Hitchcock, 
professor of mathematics and natural philosophy in the Female 
Collegiate Department ; Albert Hurd, professor of natural 
sciences ; E. S. Willcox, Phelps professor of modern lan- 
guages ; Junius B. Roberts, tutor ; George Churchill, principal 
of the academic department; Miss Jane Everett, principal in 



72 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

the Female Collegiate Department; Miss Ada H. Hayes, lady- 
principal in the academic department ; Miss E. L. Gary, Miss 
Mary Allen West, Mrs. Sara McCall, assistants in the academic 
department; Miss E. S. Kendall, teacher of drawing and 
painting; and Miss Jennie W. Sweetland, teacher of the piano. 
The chair of philosophy was filled during this year by ex- 
President Blanchard and that of moral philosophy and belles- 
lettres by Rev. J. W. Bailey, pastor of the Presbyterian 
church. The roll of students was : in the college, 109 ; in the 
Female Collegiate Department, 60 ; in the academic depart- 
ment, gentlemen, 167, ladies, 158. Deducting names appear- 
ing more than once there were altogether in the institution 
455 students." 

Dr. Simonds gives a careful summary of the require- 
ments for admission to the college course, among which was 
the stipulation that no one under fourteen years of age 
could be admitted to the freshman class. He reviews the 
different courses laid down in the college curriculum, and 
adds : "It was a well-rounded course of study, and, for its 
time, supplied admirably the requirements of a liberal edu- 
cation." 

He says that in the curriculum of the Female Col- 
legiate Department the college course was "somewhat 
diluted," although the requirements in mathematics were 
"about what was required in college." 

The college library at that time contained between two 
and three thousand volumes ; the mineralogical and geo- 
logical cabinets had about five hundred specimens each, 
which Dr. Simonds refers to as "the beginnings of that re- 
markable museum of natural history collected by the pa- 
tient effort of Professor Hurd." 

A number of interesting and suggestive announcements 
were made in that catalogue of 1858. Among them the 
statement that "the first half hour of each day is appropri- 
ated to devotional exercises and to lectures by the president 
on various moral and religious subjects on w^hich, as well 
as on the worship of God on the Sabbath, all the members 
of the institution are expected to attend." 

Reference is made to the chapel talks instituted by Dr. 



TROUBLOUS TIMES 73 

Blanchard, which are described as remarkable examples of 
the versatility, intellectual power and moral purpose of that 
president ; they produced a lasting impression on the stu- 
dents of that generation and became a tradition of the col- 
lege. 

During the early part of Dr. Blanchard's administra- 
tion, and through his influence, two noteworthy contribu- 
tions were made to the college endowment which greatly 
strengthened its material resources. Reference has already 
been made to the gift of J. P. Williston, of Massachusetts. 
This was made in successive contributions amounting to 
$10,000. About the same time Mr. Charles Phelps, of Cin- 
cinnati, an intimate personal friend of Dr. Blanchard, turned 
over to the college trustees the titles to eighteen quarter 
sections of land, at an estimated value of $30,000. The names 
of these benefactors and their notable gifts, which meant 
so much to the college in those years of stress and strug- 
gle, should in some way be perpetuated. 

We have seen that the third decade in the history of 
Knox College, or the period from 1856 to 1866, was made 
memorable by a great controversy within college circles, 
one which threatened the very existence of the institution. 
During this period also, two other and far greater contro- 
versies were being waged, the one was a state-wide conflict 
with the broad prairies of Illinois as its battle ground; in 
the other the entire nation was involved. The one cen- 
tered about the great debates between Stephen A. Douglas 
and Abraham Lincoln, which were held at seven different 
important centers throughout the state of Illinois, with 
Galesburg as one of them, and with the Knox College cam- 
pus as the forensic field. The other included the events 
which led up to, and continued through the period of the 
Civil War ; and in both of these contests Knox College was 
closely concerned. 

The occasion for the notable political discussions, known 
in history as the Lincoln and Douglas debates, was the can- 
didacy of the two men for election to the United States 
senate, and the question at issue was the momentous ques- 



74 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

tion of slavery which had now become a national issue. 
Seven public debates were held in Illinois in the summer 
and early fall of 1858, the fifth of the series taking place at 
Galesburg on Knox College campus, at the east side of the 
main college building, on the afternoon of October 7th. 
Our honored trustee and distinguished fellow-citizen. Col. 
Clark E. Carr, in his book "The Illini," in referring to these 
debates, says: "It may be said of this contest that the 
Constitution of the United States was the platform, and the 
whole American people the audience; and that upon its 
issue depended the fate of a continent." 

In Galesburg, as in other points in the state, great prep- 
arations were made, and neither party spared either pains 
or expense to have its side represented in the most effective 
manner. They held preliminary meetings at every village 
and country neighborhood for miles around in order to 
arouse enthusiasm and support for their different party 
leaders. They organized themselves into great delegations 
which rallied at different points and formed in processions 
of men and women in wagons and carriages and on horse- 
back, and headed by bands of music, with flags flying, and 
hats and handkerchiefs waving, proceeded to the place of 
meeting. Many of these processions were more than a mile 
in length. 

As they marched the air was rent with cheers, each pro- 
cession shouting the name of its hero and the rallying 
cries of its political party with wild enthusiasm. One dele- 
gation on horseback went out from Galesburg to meet in- 
coming delegations from Knoxville, which were acting as 
an escort of honor to Abraham Lincoln, who had been en- 
tertained at the old Hebard House the previous night. 

This procession was made up of young men and young 
women riding in pairs, and the occasion, in view of subse- 
quent events in history, was one never to be forgotten. 
When they met the procession which was escorting Mr. 
Lincoln they turned about and preceded them, and going 
directly to the residence of Henry R. Sanderson, the mayor 
of Galesburg, where Mr. Lincoln was to spend the night, 



s a 

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TROUBLOUS TIMES 75 

they halted, while one of the young ladies, Miss Ada Hurd, 
in a few well-chosen words, presented Mr. Lincoln with a 
beautiful silken flag. 

This young lady became the wife of William Van Horn, 
an American, born in Illinois, who, for distinguished service 
to the Crown in the promotion of the Canadian Pacific rail- 
way was knighted by Queen Victoria, and the two were af- 
terward known as Sir William and Lady Van Horn, 

A still more elaborate and very beautiful silk flag, upon 
which was embroidered the seal of the state of Illinois, was 
made by the ladies of Lombard College and presented to Mr. 
Lincoln on that same day.* 

Some clippings from the daily press of that day will be 
of interest. 

From the Peoria Transcript of October 1, 1858, we clip 
the following: 

"The next great debate between Lincoln and Douglas 
comes ofif at Galesburg on Thursday next, the 7th of October, 
and will attract the largest crowd that has yet assembled to 
listen to the joint discussions between the two great political 
champions. It is estimated that not less than 25,000 persons 
will be in attendance, and the citizens of Galesburg are making 

extensive preparations for the event An extra train 

will leave this city at 83^ in the morning, and returning, leave 
Galesburg at 6 o'clock in the afternoon. Peoria ought to fur- 
nish at least three thousand persons for this train." 

The Chicago Press and Tribune of October 5th, re- 
ports a special train to be sent out from Chicago with a 
fare of six dollars for the round trip. It requests the com- 
mittee of arrangements to make ample provisions for the 
accommodations of the reporters, saying that "two chairs 
and a washstand eighteen inches square are not sufficient 
furniture for half a dozen men to work on," and requests 
that arrangements therefore be made for at least six re- 
porters — "that the chairs and tables be placed where t'^iey 



*The Lombard flag was given by Mr. Lincoln, years afterward, to 
a senator from Kansas who greatly admired it. It is now in the his- 
torical museum in the state capital in Topeka, Kansas. 



76 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

will not be jarred or overthrown by the people on the plat- 
form, and where there will be no room for persons to crowd 
between the reporters and the speakers — and that somebody 
with authority and physical strength enough to secure obed- 
ience be appointed to keep loafers out of the reporting cor- 
ner. These things are absolutely essential to the accuracy 
of the reports." 

From the Galesburg Democrat of October 6, 1858, we 
clip the following regarding the expected delegations, 
which is of interest : 

"We learn that the Republican delegations will arrive to- 
morrow as near as possible in the following order : 

Knoxville delegations will come with Lincoln at half past 
11 a. m. Galesburg escort will meet them about a mile from 
the square. 

Mercer county delegations will come in from the west on 
Main street. 

Cameron and adjoining towns will come in from the south- 
west at 12 o'clock. 

Monmouth delegation on 12 o'clock train. 

Abingdon delegation on 10 o'clock train and some in car- 
riages. 

Henderson, Oneida, Victoria, Rio and Wataga delegations 
will enter the city from the east on Main street about 13 m 

Train from Chicago and intermediate stations arrives at 
1:25. 

Train from Peoria at 12 m." 

And so they gathered from the east and from the west, 
from the north and from the south, until the little city was 
thronged with the greatest number of visitors, in propor- 
tion to its population, that has been known in its history, 
and on that day there transpired one of the most notable 
and important events in the life of the community. The 
distinction and the significance of this historic event be- 
long as well to Knox College as to the town itself, for in 
everything that was done on that great day the college 
bore an intimate and an honorable part. 

With the outbreak of the Civil War which followed 
closely after the national disturbances connected with this 
period, the attendance of students at Knox College was 




THE SCENE OF THE GREAT DEBATE 
Between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, Octobei 7, IS.' 



TROUBLOUS TIMES 77 

greatly diminished. In those troublous times the homes 
of the community and of all the region round about were 
giving their sons as an offering upon their country's altar, 
even unto death, if need be, instead of sending them to col- 
lege halls in preparation for a long and useful life. All else 
sank into insignificance in face of the fact that their coun- 
try had called them to her defense and the summons must 
be obeyed. 

"Theirs not to make reply, 

Theirs not to reason why. 

Theirs but to do, or die." 

And so the natural sequence of the moral influences and 
the home training which preceded these events followed 
when husbands, sons and brothers marched to the front, 
while wives, mothers and sisters remained at home to work 
and weep, as they strove to give them relief and succor. 
But not with tears did they send them forth. Nay, rather 
"With a cheery smile and a wave of the hand," with 
words of encouragement and of blessing, they bravely 
bade them good bye. The tears were reserved for the inner 
sanctuary of the home, in those long hours of suspense and 
anguish which followed disastrous news, or the more bitter 
experience of no news at all after the battle was ended. 

Among those young men who proudly marched away 
in response to their country's call were fifty-eight college 
men whose names had been enrolled in the regular college 
classes, and many more who were students in the prepara- 
tory department, but whose names have not been preserved. 
The Knox men enlisted with many different regiments, so 
that their period of service was connected with different 
divisions of the army, and with many different marches, 
camps and engagements, and therefore the college was in- 
cluded within a broad scope of the history of that era of in- 
tense national activity and momentous import. 

To one of the regiments in which a number of the stu- 
dents were enlisted, the 33d 111. Infantry Vol., the women 
of Galesburg presented a beautiful silk flag. The flag was 



78 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

made by the ladies in a house which is now still standing 
on North Kellogg street just north of the residence of Mr. 
Robert Chappell. Miss "Mollie" McFarland (afterward 
Mrs. John W. Merriman), a graduate of the class of 1860, 
was chosen to make the presentation speech. The captain 
of the local company was George E. Smith, a graduate of 
the class of 1861, and doubtless he accepted the flag on be- 
half of his company. And so, in this aflFair, although not dis- 
tinctively a college affair, Knox graduates were conspicu- 
ous actors. 

Again, and yet again, were the homes of Galesburg and 
its vicinity opened to receive their dying and their dead. 
But still, undaunted, the women toiled on, making gar- 
ments, scraping lint, filling comfort bags, preparing delica- 
cies, packing boxes and writing letters to the soldiers in 
hospital and camp. The reports which have been pre- 
served of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Galesburg speak elo- 
quently and thrillingly, and with a touching pathos of the 
work of the mothers and sisters, even of the little children, 
for the relief and comfort of the brave boys in blue who 
had gone out from among them. The story of what was 
accomplished for their aid reads like a romance. 

The Knox catalogue of 1861-62 shows but forty-eight 
names of young men, and of these five are designated as 
"Gone to the war." Of these, two were killed in battle, one 
at Frederickstown and one at Fort Donaldson. There were 
twenty-four young women in the Seminary and one hun- 
dred students in the Academy — 172 in all, as against 455 
in 1858. In the following year the attendance was still 
less, being only 163. In 1864 there were 32 men in the col- 
lege, but the number of students in the Academy and in the 
young women's department had increased the total to 270 
or nearly a hundred more than in the preceding year. 

At the end of the catalogue for 1864-65 is printed a list 
of "the graduates and students at Knox College, who have 
been or are now in the United States military service." This 
does not include the names of Academy students, as the 
catalogue states that, "unfortunately their names have not 





KNOX SEMINARY GIRLS OF THE SIXTIES 




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KNOX SEMINARY GIRLS OF THE SIXTIES 



TROUBLOUS TIMES 79 

been preserved." Over the list appears the motto "Honor 
to Whom Honor." There are in all fifty-eight names, in- 
cluding one adjutant, two majors, one lieutenant-colonel, 
one captain, two lieutenants and four sergeants. Four men 
were killed or died in the service, G. G. Foster, '62; W. D. 
Latimer, '63 ; J. W. Shields, '63 ; M. E. Dunham, '65. 
The list follows : 

Class of 1861 

M. V. Hotchkiss Major 77th 111. Inf. Vol. 

H. E. Losey Lieut. Col., U. S. C. I. 

G. E. Smith Capt. 33d 111. Inf. Vol. 

W. Venable Army 

Class of 1862 

G. P. Carr Lieut. Arkansas Cav. 

*G. G. Foster 1st Serg't. 33d 111. Inf. 

Class of 1863 

H. A. Allen 11th 111. Cav. 

Samuel Hunt Major 9th Tenn. Cav. 

*W. D. Latimer 3d Lieut. 71st 111. Inf. Vol. 

G. M. Roberts 1st Lieut. 137th 111. Inf. Vol. 

*J. W. Shield — 111. Inf. Vol. 

C. A. Stone 1st Lieut. 33d 111. Inf. Vol. 

Class of 1864 

H. P. Ayres Adjutant 77th 111. Inf. Vol. 

Wm. Craig 2d Lieut. 137th 111. Inf. Vol. 

W. M. Benton Lieut. 9th 111. Cav. 

T. C. Catlin Armv 

H. O. Gaston 1st 111. Cav. 

J. C. Latimer 70th 111. Inf. Vol. 

J. F. Latimer 2d Lieut. 137th 111. Inf. Vol. 

J. M. Montgomery Lieut. 66th 111. Inf. Vol. 

O. H. Pitcher 1st Lieut. 137th 111. Inf. Vol. 

E. S. Waterbury 22d 111. Inf. Vol. 

D. H. Waterbury ,2d Lieut. 142d 111. Inf. Vol. 

Class of 1865 

G. P. Ayres 89th 111. Inf. Vol. 

J. M. Chase 78th 111. Inf. Vol. 

J. A. Cooper Serg't 137th 111. Inf. Vol 

*Died or killed in the service. 



80 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

*M. E. Dunham 17th 111. Inf. Vol. 

J. T. Hair Serg't 71st 111. Inf. Vol. 

W. Jenny 77th 111. Inf. Vol. 

J. R. Kinnear 86th 111. Inf. Vol. 

D. C. McCoy 137th 111. Inf. Vol. 

C. F. Robinson 1st 111. Cav. 

Samuel West 59th 111. Inf. Vol. 

J. O. Swank — Iowa Inf. Vol. 

J. B. White Serg't 137th 111. Inf. Vol. 

Class of 1866 

E. N. Barrett 137th 111. Inf. Vol. 

D. Farquhar 137th 111. Inf. Vol. 

T. C. Poling 137th 111. Inf. Vol. 

W. M. Ross 71st 111. Inf. 

T. M. Wall — Iowa Inf Vol. 

T. Wild — Iowa Inf. Vol. 

Class of 1867 

J. A. Adams 69th 111. Inf. Vol. 

G. H. Carr 137th 111. Inf. Vol 

A. L. Granger Lieut. 20th Regulars 

C. H. Lawrence 137th 111. Inf. Vol. 

C. R. Wilkinson 87th Ohio Inf. Vol. 

Class of 1868 

L. B. Aiken 71st 111. Inf. Vol 

T. N. Ayres 72d 111. Inf. Vol. 

S. A. Dysart 2d Iowa Cav. Vol. 

J. M. McLane Navy 

There were also many young men who, after having 
first responded to the call to arms and completed a period 
of service in the Civil War, then entered Knox College, re- 
mained through the entire course, graduated with credit to 
themselves and to the college, and have since filled useful 
and honorable positions in business and professional life. 
Their names also, although no record has been made of their 
military service, should belong to our roll of honor. 

President Harvey Curtis died in the spring of 1863. 
This event added still another unfortunate element to the 



*Died or killed in the service. 




p; c 00 

H -S ^ 




TROUBLOUS TIMES 81 

serious problems of the college at this time. On Com- 
mencement Day, June 25 of that same year, Rev. William 
S, Curtis, D. D., was inaugurated as his successor. The 
situation which he faced in the depleted numbers upon the 
college roll and the critical state of the college finances, to- 
gether with the disastrous conditions throughout the coun- 
try at large, because of the war, was anything but reassur- 
ing, and required a courageous spirit and a firm grasp of the 
situation. He remained in the presidential chair for five 
years. 



CHAPTER XII 

RECONSTRUCTION IN KNOX COLLEGE. 

In 1868 the finances of the college had reached so criti- 
cal a condition because of unwise action and lack of 
forethought in the sale of college property to meet con- 
stantly recurring deficits, and the generally disastrous con- 
sequences of the Civil War, that the trustees decided that 
they must make an appeal to the public. President William 
Curtis resigned, and in looking about for his successor the 
trustees felt that they must secure a man who was much in 
the public eye, and whose influence as the head of the insti- 
tution would be recognized. The choice fell upon Rev. 
John P. Gulliver, D. D., the pastor of one of the leading 
churches of Chicago. He was offered the presidency, ac- 
cepted it and began his labors in the fall of 1868, continuing 
in the office until 1872. 

Dr. Gulliver was noted as being a brilliant writer and 
speaker, a man of fine presence and agreeable personality. 
Students were attracted to the college in greater numbers 
than before, and outwardly things took on a more prosper- 
ous appearance. But, unfortunately, the president and the 
trustees did not agree as to the financial policy of the insti- 
tution. President Gulliver believed that a somewhat lavish 
expenditure was necessary to equip the institution and 
thereby attract students, while the trustees insisted upon 
retrenchment. President Gulliver therefore resigned in 
1872. 

For the three years ensuing there was no president, and 
during that period Professor Albert Hurd performed the 
duties of the office. 

In 1874 the college took a new departure, perhaps as a 
measure of policy, perhaps to satisfy a demand. The col- 
lege course was thrown open to women, and at its suc- 
cessful completion by any of them they were given the 

(82) 




NEWTON BATEMAN, LL. D. 
President of Knox College. 1875-1892 



RECONSTRUCTION IN KNOX COLLEGE 83 

degree of A. B, Not yet, however, were they permitted to 
mingle with the young men in the class room, but the 
courses were given separately, the young women meeting 
in the Seminary as previously, and in separate classes in 
the college building, with this exception; in the more ad- 
vanced studies and the lectures of the senior year the 
young women attended classes with the young men. 

In granting the young women the high privilege of a 
collegiate course, however, great consideration was shown 
them, for they were allowed six years, instead of four, in 
which to complete it. This was done, as it was announced, 
in order "to avoid injury to health, and to give time to the 
cultivation of fine arts and other accomplishments which 
are not pursued by young men." It was not long after this 
until all recitations were conducted in mixed classes in the 
college building. The inference may be readily drawn, and 
the only logical result became apparent when the distinct- 
ive course for women was abandoned in 1891. This was re- 
placed by a literary course leading up to the degree of B. L. 
(Bachelor of Letters.) Ten years thereafter, or in 1901, 
this degree was conferred for the last time, the course hav- 
ing been dropped from the catalogue two years before. 

The close of the fourth decade in the history of the col- 
lege witnessed the culminating event which heralded the 
most auspicious era which the college had thus far enjoyed. 
It was the inauguration of Newton Bateman, LL. D., as 
president of Knox College. The writer of this narrative 
will not attempt to express her appreciation of and admira- 
tion for President Bateman as a college officer, an honored 
citizen, and a beloved and revered personal friend, lest her 
words appear to be extravagant and fulsome. With the 
permission of Professor Simonds we quote from his more 
calm and judicial estimate of the man which leaves nothing 
lacking in the summing up of those qualities which betok- 
ened his supreme fitness for the position. Dr. Simonds 
says : 

"In 1875 Newton Bateman, LL. D., accepted the call of the 
trustees to the presidency, and a new epoch was begun in the 



84 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

history of Knox College. Dr. Bateman, whose name is for- 
ever linked with the educational development of Illinois, had 
but recently retired from office as state superintendent of 
schools, an office in which he had rendered signal service for 
a period of fourteen years. 

To the duties of his new position he brought the ripe exper- 
ience of that term of public service, and also the exper- 
ience gained during fourteen years of actual teaching previous 
to his work as superintendent. 

Warm-hearted, genial, sympathetic and tactful, President 
Bateman was beloved by his students and admired by his 
fellow citizens. His scholarly attainments, his native dignity 
and nobility of character commanded universal respect. 
Throughout the seventeen years of his long period of service 
as its president the college enjoyed a placid era of continuous 
progress." 

This placid era of continuous progress which character- 
ized Dr. Bateman's presidency heralded the dawn of a new 
day at Knox, and with the dawn, as with every new day, 
new life and energy became manifest in new undertakings. 
Some of the more notable events of this period, which were 
included within the fifth decade of the history of the college, 
were the addition of several new departments to its course 
of study, and the addition of the large and much needed 
east wing to the young ladies' Seminary. 

In 1883 a department for instruction in the study of 
music was established under the direction of Miss Lepha 
A, Kelsey. This department is now in its thirtieth year, 
and has become one of the leading attractions offered by the 
college to prospective students. In the same year a depart- 
ment of art was created. 

The department of music deserves more than a passing 
mention. In 1885 Mr. William F. Bentley, its present di- 
rector, was called to take charge of the department. He 
had graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 
1883, and for two years had been principal of the musical 
department of the New Lyme Institute in Ohio. With 
characteristic energy and enthusiasm he took up the work 
before him, and with the unfailing aid of these two con- 
trolling natural qualities, coupled with a wise business man- 
agement, he has handled its affairs for twenty-seven years. 




WILLIAM F. BENTLEY, Mus. D. 
Director of Knox Conservatory 



RECONSTRUCTION IN KNOX COLLEGE 85 

The result of his efforts and management may be seen 
in the thoroughly organized, well-equipped school of music 
— widely known as the Knox Conservatory of Music — hav- 
ing seven departments, a faculty of nine professors and 
teachers, its own business office, in which is employed a 
secretary-treasurer, and a summer school. The conserva- 
tory is the one department of the college that never closes 
its doors the year round. The members of its faculty have 
had the best of training for their special work with teachers 
of note in this country, and under celebrated instructors in 
Leipsic, Berlin and Paris. 

After two years of successful effort to place his depart- 
ment upon a permanent basis, Professor Bentley went 
abroad for special study and remained for two years, leav- 
ing the conservatory under the charge of Miss Jennie P. 
Johnston, now Mrs. L. H. Jelliff, a musician of decided tal- 
ent and ability. Again, in 1898-99, he spent a year abroad 
in special study. 

Side by side with Professor Bentley for twenty-two 
years has stood John Winter Thompson, his able assistant 
and close friend, as a recognized and influential factor in 
the upbuilding of the school. Professor Thompson is a 
graduate from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and from 
the Royal Conservatory of Music in Leipsic, His specialty 
is the pipe organ, and it is generally admitted that he is 
rapidly taking high rank among the leading organists of 
this country. Both Professor Bentley and Professor 
Thompson received the honorary degree of Doctor of 
Music from Knox College in 1910. 

In 1884 a military department was organized. A law 
had been passed authorizing the detail of an army officer to 
certain institutions in the country. The passing of this law 
was largely due to the efforts of President Bateman, who se- 
cured the assistance of Robert T. Lincoln, the Secretary of 
War, and the son of his former office partner and most in- 
timate friend, Abraham Lincoln. He was also assisted by 
the two senators from Illinois, Shelby M. Cullom and Gen. 
John A. Logan. A well-organized, well-uniformed and 



«6 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

well-drilled cadet corps was maintained at Knox until the 
outbreak of the Spanish-American war in 1899 — that is, for 
fifteen years, and was always a very popular and very at- 
tractive feature of the institution. At the outbreak of the 
difficulties with Spain the special details were withdrawn 
from all the educational institutions except the state uni- 
versities. Among the military officers who were detailed 
for service at Knox were a number who have since become 
distinguished in the service of their country. 

The first officer detailed to command the cadet corps at 
Knox College was Lieut. Stephen C, Mills, the brother of a 
loyal daughter of Knox, Mrs. Clark E. Carr. Lieutenant 
Mills did very efficient work in laying the foundations of 
the military department at Knox. His subsequent dis- 
tinguished career has proved his fitness for the many forms 
of military service to which he has been assigned. He has 
risen to the rank of colonel, and is at present inspector-gen- 
eral of the United States army for the divisions of the East 
with headquarters at Governor's Island, New York. 

At the close of the Spanish war an effort was made by 
the resident trustees, among the most interested and de- 
termined of whom was Col. Clark E. Carr, to have the mili- 
tary department restored to the course of instruction. But 
the movement was unsuccessful and the later development 
of college athletics now occupies the place and interest 
formerly bestowed on military drill. 

Reference has been made to the building of the east 
wing of the Seminary. To this addition the trustees 
gave the name of "Whiting Hall" in commemoration of the 
earnest and successful work of Mrs. Maria W^hiting in se- 
curing funds for the addition. It was only at her sugges- 
tion, seconded by her untiring personal efforts, that this 
building was made possible. Mrs. Whiting was for fifteen 
years the beloved principal of the Seminary, an office which 
now bears the title of Dean of Women of Whiting Hall. 
She was in every respect a rare example of womanhood. 
"None knew her but to love her, 
None named her but to praise." 




COL. STEPHEN C. MILLS, U. S. A. 

Inspector General for the Division of 
the East. The first officer detailed to 
command of the Knox College Cadet 
Corps. 





CAPT. GEORGE O. CRESS, U. S. A. 
Detailed in 1889. 



MAJOR JNO. G. BALLANCE, U. S. A. 
Detailed in 1897. 







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FACULTY GROUP 

Reproduced from the Pantheon, published in IS 
Editor-in-Chief. 



3. Stuart M. Campbell, 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL JUBILEE. 

The year 1887 witnessed the completion of the first half 
century in the life of the college and the First Church, both 
of which became organized institutions in February, 1837. 
And in February and June of this year the semi-centennial 
anniversaries of these twin organizations were enthusiasti- 
cally observed. 

The church chose the dates on which two successive 
meetings were held by the original church, one for the pres- 
entation, consideration and approval of the confessions of 
faith and the covenant, the other a meeting in which these 
were formally adopted, and the ordinances of baptism and 
the Lord's supper were administered, thus cementing their 
union in the bonds of Christian fellowship. The celebra- 
tion was continued through the following day which was 
the Sabbath. The dates of this celebration were February 
25, 26 and 27. 

The college celebration was observed during the Com- 
mencement week in June. This date was chosen in order 
that the alumni who gathered for the annual Commence- 
ment festivities might share in the celebration of this 
greater occasion. 

Both celebrations were carried out with distinguished 
success, and that of the church was also deeply inspiring 
and impressive. 

The social reunion and supper of Friday evening, Feb- 
ruary 25th, which inaugurated the exercises of the semi- 
centennial celebration of the church, was an occasion so ad- 
mirable in its every arrangement and so thoroughly de- 
lightful in every detail of its execution that it proved a most 
auspicious and fitting introduction to the continuous feast 
of enjoyment which the programs of the two succeeding 

(87) 



88 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

days and evenings afforded. The reunion was held in the 
Princess Rink, long since demolished, which stood where 
the Auditorium now stands. This building was the only 
available place in the city in which so large a number as 
were expected could be seated together at tables. These 
tables, six in number, extended the entire length of the large 
room and preparation was made for six hundred guests. 

After the guests had been seated Professor George 
Churchill, chairman of the evening, called the company to 
order and introduced the venerable Dr. Jonathan Blanchard, 
former president of Knox College, who in a most impressive 
and beautiful manner invoked the divine blessing upon this 
memorable occasion. His touching allusions to the sacred 
memories of the past, and to "the holy dead," whom he be- 
lieved to be even then looking down upon, and entering 
into the spirit of the scene, thrilled the hearts of all. 

The scene, as witnessed from the galleries on either side 
the room, was one of thrilling and historic import. The 
beautifully decorated tables, surrounded by that large and 
interesting company, many of them with forms bowed by 
the weight of years and heads silvered by the frosts of many 
winters ; the greetings and congratulations, the serious and 
tearful faces as absent loved ones were recalled, all com- 
bined to produce a scene the like of which, from its very 
nature, could never again be witnessed in Galesburg. 

All the members of the church who could be present, to- 
gether with the invited guests, were seated at the same time, 
as one family, and the entire company of six hundred were 
promptly and courteously served by young gentlemen from 
the congregation, many of them being students of Knox 
College. At the conclusion of the supper, with Professor 
Churchill acting as toast-master, an evening of rare enjoy- 
ment and historic interest was spent in listening to a pro- 
gram of addresses, personal reminiscences and letters from 
former members of the church, and from members of the 
First Presbyterian Church and the First Congregational 
Church (Dr. Edward Beecher's) who were originally mem- 
bers of the "old First Church," as it was now affection- 



THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL JUBILEE 89 

ately called. Nor were there any more tender reminiscences 
or loving greetings than those which came from the many 
who were at one time connected with the old church but 
who had withdrawn to cast their lot with these two other 
churches. 

The general program of exercises for the three days of 
celebration was as follows : 

Friday, February 25, 1837 — A social reunion of the 
church, with sentiments and the reading of letters from ab- 
sent members and invited guests. 

Saturday, 2 p. m. — Historical sketches. 

Saturday, 7 p. m. — Reminiscences, pastoral letters and 
addresses. 

Sunday, 10:30 a. m. — Discourse by the pastor. Dr. A. R. 
Thain, upon "The Church and the College." 

Sunday, 12 m. — Commemorative exercises in the Sun- 
day school. 

Sunday, 7 p. m. — A song and praise service. 

All of the exercises with the exception of those of the 
first evening were held in the old First Church. 

The committee having the programs, and all other ar- 
rangements for the celebration in charge were the follow- 
ing : Professor George Churchill, Professor Milton L. Com- 
stock, Professor Henry W. Read, Mrs. Martha Farnham 
Webster, Miss Mary Emma Everest. 

The semi-centennial celebration by the college the fol- 
lowing June was distinguished by special features of a bril- 
liant order contributed by alumni, trustees and friends, and 
by exceptional merit in the parts taken by the student body 
in the various college exercises throughout the entire Com- 
mencement week. 

Great effort had been made to secure a large attendance 
of the alumni at the Commencement exercises of this Jubi- 
lee year. And the response to the urgent invitations sent 
out was remarkable. Of the forty-one classes which had 
graduated from the college, thirty-seven were represented, 
some of them by a comparatively large number of members. 



90 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

and some by only one, two or three of their original num- 
ber. Even the class of '46, the first to be graduated, was rep- 
resented by four of its nine original members. Among these 
were Professor Henry E. Hitchcock, formerly of the Knox 
faculty, and at that time a professor in the Nebraska State 
University, and Rev. William E. Holyoke, a member of the 
Knox Board of Trustees. It is estimated that 206 graduates 
were in attendance. The classes which were not repre- 
sented were those of '47, '49, '61 and '76. 

The old opera house which, in more recent years, had 
been used for the Commencement exercises, had burned 
down, and as there was no other auditorium large enough 
to accommodate the large numbers which were expected for 
Commencement week other plans must be made. 

An immense wigwam was constructed just in the rear 
of the main college building, with a large speaker's platform 
which could be entered from the south door of the central 
hall of the building, or by steps which were built up to it 
from the floor of the pavilion. This floor was the uncov- 
ered sod of the college campus which stretched south from 
Old Main. Tradition says that the students were given a 
holiday so that all might lend a hand to the construction of 
the great pavilion — that the boys built it and the girls 
furnished the noonday lunch, of which they all partook. 

The structure was built but how was it to be paid for? 
The students with their ever-ready plans and devices had 
already provided for that. The festivities of the week were 
to be opened by a jollification of the students in the wig- 
wam on the Friday evening preceding Baccalaureate Sun- 
day. To this entertainment an admission was to be 
charged and the proceeds appropriated to the cost of the 
building. The entertainment was an operetta — "The Grass- 
hopper," founded upon that foolish rhyme known in college 
song books the world over. But like many another foolish 
performance it was immensely effective. The costuming 
was appropriate to the roles, the turkey gobbler strutting 
pompously about in feathered garb with brilliant crest and 
wattles, and the grasshopper in dainty dress of green. Rev. 




FACULTY GROUP 
From the Pantheon, 1888 




A GROUP OF DISTINGUISHED KNOX ORATORS 
Early winners at the Interstate and their Instructor 



THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL JUBILEE 91 

F, E. Jeffrey, then a senior, who, with his wife, a member of 
the same class, has been a missionary in India for many 
years, took the role of the turkey gobbler, the leading basso, 
and the dainty grasshopper was the leading soprano. 

The entertainment was pronounced "novel, unique, in- 
teresting, successful." The other features of the evening 
were expert bicycle riding, gymnastic performances, cadet 
bayonet drill, two recitations, one of which was given by 
John E. Jaderquist "in his characteristically funny way," 
etc. 

Referring to the Coup d'Etat of that month we learn 
that the best thing of all in the entertainment was kept for 
the last. It says: "Two hundred students marched up on 
the huge platform, and, after a remarkable 'sky-rocket' act, 
sang several college songs, spirited, funny, capital" The 
remotest corner of the pavilion echoed with the strains and 
we all came away feeling pleased with the performance and 
glad that we had helped to pay for the Jubilee auditorium. 
A commendable degree of "college spirit" was manifest 
on this occasion, surely. The various exercises of the week 
which followed were of a very high order. The Baccalau- 
reate sermon by President Bateman, the address before the 
Christian associations by the Rev. Dr. McPherson, of Chi- 
cago, the alumni oration by the Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Roy, an 
alumnus and trustee, the semi-centennial address by the 
Hon. Stephen V. White, of Brooklyn, also an alumnus, 
were all distinguished efforts. The Baccalaureate and semi- 
centennial addresses may be found printed in full in the 
Knox Coup d'Etat for June, 1887, together with abstracts 
of the other addresses and quite complete reports of the fes- 
tivities of the entire week. 

The various contests, both literary and athletic, the ex- 
hibitions, class reunions and society reunions, filled the 
hours of the day and evening full to overflowing, and fur- 
nished uninterrupted enjoyment. 

Mr. John H. Finley, the future president of the college, 
was a graduate of that year, and valedictorian of his class. 
His oration on "John Brown" was the one with which he 



92 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

had won first honors in the inter-state oratorical contest a 
few weeks before. The oration for the Master's degree was 
pronounced by Mr. C. T. Wyckofif, now a professor in the 
Bradley Polytechnic Institute of Peoria, his subject being 
"Judas Maccabeus." This was reported as having been "an 
admirable production, splendidly delivered and thoroughly 
enjoyed by the audience." 

The last public gathering of this Jubilee week was the 
reunion and banquet which occurred on Thursday evening, 
June 8th. About one thousand sat down to the banquet 
which was served by the caterers of the city. Col. Clark 
E. Carr was toastmaster of the evening and proposed the 
following toasts, which were responded to in enthusiastic 
speeches : "The Founders of Galesburg," Professor 
Churchill ; "The Early Presidents and Professors of 
Knox," E. S. W^illcox; "Class of '46," Rev. V^. E. Holyoke; 
"Knox as She Is and Is to Be," President Bateman ; "Knox 
in 1937," Dr. Joseph E. Roy; "The Old Boys," A. W. Kel- 
logg; "The Evolution of a College Student," Professor 
Hurd; "Knox and the Old Flag," Capt. J. A. McKenzie; 
"Knox and the Rowdy West," J. A. Cooper; "Knox and the 
Business World," Hon. S. V. White; "The Forty-Niners," 
H. G. Ferris. Excellent music was furnished by the Elm- 
wood band. 

Especial attentions were shown to Hon. S. V. White 
during his visit to the college on this occasion. He was an 
alumnus of the class of 1854, and had always been a most 
loyal son of Knox. Having been conspicuously successful 
in the business world, he had been a most generous bene- 
factor of the college in her times of need ; and when his pres- 
ence at the semi-centennial celebration was assured, it was 
proposed to give him a unique and royal welcome. 

While a student in college Mr. White had roomed at the 
West Bricks, and under the direction of some of his old col- 
lege chums, the room which he had occupied was restored 
as far as possible to its appearance at the time of his occu- 
pancy. 

Upon his arrival in Galesburg President Bateman and 




STEPHEN V. WHITE 
Class of 1854 
A benefactor of the College and 
noted New York financier. 



ERASTUS S. WILLCOX 

Class of 1851 

Phelps Professor of Modern Languages 

during the fifties; Librarian of the 

Peoria Public Library. 





JOB A. COOPER 
Class of 1865 
Governor of Colorado. 1889-01 



JOSEPH E. ROY 
Class of 1848 
A Trustee of the College; for many 
years a Field Secretary of the A. M. A. 



THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL JUBILEE 93 

Colonel Carr met him at the railway station with a hand- 
some barouche, and he was driven directly to the college 
campus and assigned to his old room in the historic West 
Bricks, so soon to be demolished and thereafter to be known 
only in history. This reminder of his old happy college 
days touched Mr. White deeply; during his visit he fre- 
quently referred to the courtesy with pleasure ; and although 
the best accommodations which our hotels afforded had 
been secured for himself and his wife, Mr. White spent as 
much of his time as possible in his room at the West Bricks. 



CHAPTER XIV 

NEW UNDERTAKINGS AND NOTABLE 
OCCASIONS. 

The enthusiasm and renewed activity awakened by the 
experiences and the influences of the semi-centennial cele- 
bration found expression in new undertakings and enlarged 
plans for the future of Knox College. One of the more im- 
portant steps taken at the beginning of this era was the 
movement to place the department of English Literature 
upon an independent basis. This chair had been ably filled, 
from time to time, but usually in association with other de- 
partments. 

In 1889 William E. Simonds, Ph. D., was secured to 
have charge of this department. The duties which he 
then assumed have since been performed with distin- 
guished ability and success, and with ever-increasing 
credit to himself and honor to the college. It is largely ow- 
ing to his efforts and his personal influence that this depart- 
ment has been developed until it is recognized as one of the 
leading literary departments among the colleges of the 
country. 

Professor Simonds was graduated from Brown Univer- 
sity in 1883, after which he took post-graduate courses in 
the Universities of Berlin and Strassburg, receiving his Doc- 
tor's degree at the latter institution in 1888. Before going 
abroad he had taught in the Providence High School, and 
after his return he was instructor in German in Cornell Uni- 
versity until he accepted the call to Knox. His marriage in 
1898 to Miss Katherine Courtright, who had been the suc- 
cessful dean of women at Whiting Hall, was the happy 
consummation of his years of preparation for his life's work. 

Dr. Simonds is an author of some note, and a contrib- 
utor to critical magazines and literary journals, and is a 

(94) 




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MALVINA M. WILLCOX 
(Mrs. Harvey Curtis) 

1858-1860 



MISS SARAH HATCH 
ISfiO 66 




MISS ADA HOWARD 
1866-1869 



MRS. MARIA H. WHITING 
1879-1892 



Principals of the Ladies' Collegiate Depaitment and of Knox Seminary. 



NEW UNDERTAKINGS AND NOTABLE OCCASIONS 95 

member of the Modern Language Association of America. 
Among his published works are the following : "Sir Thomas 
Wyatt and His Poems." "An Introduction to the Study of 
English Fiction." "A Student's History of English Lit- 
erature." "A Student's History of American Literature." 
He has edited school editions of Scott's "Ivanhoe," 
and "Quentin Durward," De Quincey's "Revolt of the Tar- 
tars," Mrs. Gaskell's "Cranford." He has contributed an 
admirable article upon "Knox College" to Mr. Perry's valu- 
able History of Knox County. In 1911 his Alma Mater, 
Brown University, conferred upon him the honorary degree 
of Litt. D. 

When Dr. Simonds entered upon his duties at Knox, the 
college was enjoying the prosperity and the hopeful for- 
ward look which the steady increase in numbers during 
President Bateman's administration had given it, and also, 
as has been said, the semi-centennial celebration had added 
substantially to its assets in those respects. In the year 
1889-90 the enrollment of students was 601. 

The spirit of the institution was of the finest type and 
was felt throughout the community, as was also the atmos- 
phere of harmony and enthusiasm which prevailed and 
with which the work proceeded. The notable chapel talks 
of Dr. Bateman during the years of his administration had 
gone far toward attracting and cementing the interest and 
sympathies of the community, many of whom gathered reg- 
ularly with the students on Thursday morning to hear them. 
Those weekly chapel talks of Dr. Bateman remain in the 
memory of those who were so fortunate as to hear them, as 
among the most delightful and noteworthy features con- 
nected with the history of Knox College. 

In 1890 the completion of Alumni Hall, a gift from the 
alumni of the college, started a movement leading toward 
the erection of a succession of handsome buildings upon the 
college campus. On October 8th the corner stone of this 
building was laid by President Harrison, who, with mem- 
bers of his touring party, had accepted an invitation to the 
ceremonies of this occasion. 



% SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

In 1892 a west wing, corresponding to the east wing, 
was added to the Seminary, making a large and commodi- 
ous boarding hall with accommodations for one hundred 
and twenty-four young women besides the suites occupied 
by the dean of women and the matron. The entire building 
was beautified by the painstaking and loving effort of Mrs. 
Maria Whiting in planting and training the beautiful wood- 
bine, which is '•uch a decorative feature on the very attract- 
ive exterior of the building. Mrs. Whiting died in 1894, and 
after her death the building as a whole was named Whiting 
Hall to honor her memory. One of the parlors in the build- 
ing also has been fitted up as an attractive, cosy office for 
the dean of women, and bears the name of the Whiting 
Memorial Room. 

A noteworthy gift came to the college about this time, 
and the enthusiasm and hopefulness of its management, 
teachers and friends was proportionately increased thereby. 
Dr. D. K. Pearsons, of Chicago, whose gifts to col- 
leges throughout the land had been frequent and generous, 
included Knox College upon his list. In 1889 he gave to the 
college real estate in Chicago valued at $50,000. As is often 
the case with that kind of a gift, the expectations of the col- 
lege have not been fully realized, the property has depre- 
ciated in value and the income has decreased in proportion. 

In 1892 President Bateman's failing health made it ap- 
parent to himself and his friends that he must lessen his 
burdens and responsibilities. At his suggestion, therefore, 
the Board of Trustees asked John H. Finley, a graduate of 
Knox in the class of '87, to accept the presidency. This he 
did, but did not enter upon his duties until a year afterward. 
Dr. Bateman remaining at his post ; after the arrival of Mr. 
Finley he continued to act as President-emeritus until his 
death on October 21, 1897. 

At the time of Dr. Finley's election to this office the fact 
was often referred to with a touch of pride and self-gratu- 
lation on the part of his sponsors, that he was the youngest 
college president in the country. He was only twenty-seven 
years old, and they felt that they could show to the country, 




JOHN H. FINLEY, LL. D. 
President of Knox College, 1892-1S09 



NEW UNDERTAKINGS AND NOTABLE OCCASIONS 97 

and possibly to the world, a conspicuous example of a self- 
made man, disciplined in the school of hardship, supple- 
mented by distinguished and brilliant natural ability. 

Dr. Finley had worked his way through college, and, 
notwithstanding this fact, he had given proof of unusual 
brilliancy as a student, had won every possible honor in 
scholarship, as well as the highest prizes in inter-collegiate 
and inter-state oratorical contests, and had been, personally, 
one of the most popular men in the institution. After his 
graduation from Knox he had taken graduate work at Johns 
Hopkins, and was, for a time, engaged in the work of the As- 
sociated Charities in New York, being the editor of the 
"Charities Review," of which magazine he was the founder. 
As he entered upon the duties of the presidency, Dr. 
Simonds, who was his associate upon the faculty, thus char- 
acterizes him : "To his new position he brought the enthusi- 
asm of youth and the devotion of a loyal son of the college. 
His own under-graduate life was so recent that he was able, 
with rare discernment, to enter into the circumstances and 
needs of his students, and the relation thus established was 
intimate and helpful. The feeling of personal comradeship 
that existed was remarkable." 

Some of the notable features of President Finley's ad- 
ministration were the following: The college was mod- 
ernized by the development of courses in science; the 
courses in physics, biology and chemistry were arranged 
in separate departments; the position of dean of women 
was created in 1894 ; instructors in physical culture for both 
men and women were added; a course in Bible study was 
adopted; special lecturers were secured from the universi- 
ties, and some of the most distinguished scholars in the 
country were brought by President Finley to supplement 
and emphasize the work of the college. 

This was the period of university extension courses of 
lectures, and under President Finley's able management 
numerous lecture-study courses were given. Among the 
distinguished literary and scientific men who lectured in 
these courses were Professors J. C. Freeman, Richard T. 



98 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Ely, Frederic J. Turner and Edward A. Birge, of the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin; Frederic Starr, Harry P. Judson and 
Albion W. Small, of the University of Chicago; Frederic A. 
Wines and Jacob Riis, of New York; J. Graham Brooks, 
of Harvard University ; J. W. Jenks, of Cornell Universtiy ; 
William R. French, of Chicago Art Institute; Alice Free- 
man Palmer, then dean of women of the University of Chi- 
cago, and Jane Addams, of Hull House. These lectures were 
generally delivered in courses of six each, and covered the 
fields of literature, history, economics, anthropology, bacteri- 
ology, sociology, ethics and art. 

Knox College itself became the promoter of extension 
work and a number of the professors conducted courses in 
near-by towns and cities. In 1894, 1895 and 1896, summer 
schools were conducted with success. 

Two notable celebrations were inaugurated during this 
decade, the observance of Founders' Day and the celebra- 
tion of the Lincoln-Douglas debate. 

In 1894, on the 15th of February, the first celebration o^ 
Founders' Day was observed. This was a great occasion for 
Knox College, the entire day being given up to programs of 
an intensely interesting character. In the morning the ex- 
ercises were held in the old First Church; the afternoon 
and evening exercises in the Presbyterian Church. 

The morning program, President John H. Finley presid- 
ing, was full of brilliant and interesting speeches from Hon. 
William Selden Gale, a son of the founder ; Professor George 
Churchill, of Knox; Dr. C. W. Leffingwell, of St. Mary's 
School, Knoxville; Dr. John E. Bradley, President of Illi- 
nois College; Dr. C. W. Hiatt, pastor of the First Congre- 
gational Church, Peoria ; Dr. Albion W. Small, of the Chi- 
cago University ; Hon. L. S. Coffin ; Professor Albert Hurd, 
of Knox. Rev. E. G. Smith, a member of the first class to 
graduate from Knox, pronounced the benediction. 

No better idea of this morning celebration can be given 
than that conveyed by a brief extract from the published 
report of the day's doings: 




WILLIAM SELDEN GALE 

Son of the Founder 

Member of the Board of Trustees 




HON. CLARK E. CARR 
Senior member of the Board of Trustees 



NEW UNDERTAKINGS AND NOTABLE OCCASIONS 99 

"At half past nine o'clock on the morning of Founders' 
Day the trustees of the college, the guests of the day, the fac- 
ulty and the students formed a line at Alumni Hall and 
marched across the park to the old First Church, the college 
cadet band leading the march with music, the classes challeng- 
ing one another with the college yell and displaying flags and 
streamers of purple and gold. 

The 'Old First' was filled, the students on one side of the 
house, the townspeople and other friends on the other side. 
The stage was tastefully decorated, and an oil painting of 
General Knox, loaned by M'rs. F. C. Rice, a great grand- 
daughter, hung at one side. 

The cadet band played an overture, after which the chair- 
man. President Finley, spoke a few words of welcome to 
those who had come to celebrate the day with the faculty and 
students and said: 'When the legislature at Vandalia was 
voting on this day, fifty-seven years ago, to charter Knox 
College, the colonists at 'Log City' were taking the first steps 
toward the organization of a church, the church under whose 
ample roof we are met to-day. This is, then, the birthday, 
too, of this church. It is fitting, therefore, that the first voice 
raised this morning in thanksgiving for the past should be 
that of the pastor of this old church which has been so closely 
associated with the college in the memory of her students ; Dr. 
A. F. Sherrill will lead us in prayer to the God who led our 
fathers to these prairies." 

The afternoon program was a "complimentary enter- 
tainment given by the Knox Conservatory of Music and the 
Department of Elocution to the citizens of Galesburg and 
the students of Knox College." 

The evening program, Hon. Clark E. Carr presiding, 
was preceded by a social hour and informal luncheon, after 
which, with an introductory address by Colonel Carr, the 
Hon. George R. Peck was presented, who gave a masterly 
address on "The Kingdom of Light." 

This initial Founders' Day celebration was the most 
notable, brilliant and interesting of any ever observed by the 
college, and will stand out among all events of its kind as a 
memorial to the masterful plans and achievements of Presi- 
dent Finley. 

An interesting and noteworthy item in connection with 
the celebration was the fact that the date observed, Febru- 



100 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

ary 15th, was also the birthday of the Hon. W. S. Gale, the 
son of the founder, who delivered the first address on the 
morning program. 

The anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debate was also 
celebrated, for the first time, in the fall of 1896. On this oc- 
casion the exercises were held in front of the main college 
building — "Old Main" — from a platform built over the steps 
and reached from the college hall. Notable speakers on the 
program were Chauncey M. Depew, of New York ; Senator 
Palmer, of Illinois; Governor Bois, of Iowa, and Hon. Rob- 
ert T. Lincoln. 

In 1900 a still more noteworthy celebration occurred 
when President McKinley and his Cabinet honored the oc- 
casion with their presence. The postmaster-general, Charles 
Emery Smith, was the orator of the day, but President Mc- 
Kinley, John Hay, the secretary of state, and others of the 
Cabinet made brief addresses. Col. Clark E. Carr was the 
president of the day; Col. and Mrs. Carr entertained Presi- 
dent and Mrs. McKinley, with the members of their private 
party, at their residence on North Prairie street. During 
their stay in Galesburg President McKinley called his Cabi- 
net together for a meeting in the library of Colonel Carr. 
This is the only occasion on which a meeting of the United 
States Cabinet has been held within the borders of the state 
of Illinois; and Illinois, the city of Galesburg, Knox College 
and the hospitable home of Colonel Carr were all distinctly 
honored thereby. 

Popular movements such as this, undertaken and suc- 
cessfully consummated by President Finley, went far toward 
bringing the college into public and favorable notice, and its 
own popularity and prestige were perceptibly increased. 

During the seven years of President Finley's administra- 
tion there was but one when the attendance fell below 650. 

In 1899 Dr. Finley resigned to take up editorial work in 
New York. One year later he was called to the chair of 
Politics in Princeton University. Professor Thomas R. 
Willard served as acting-president of the college during the 
years 1899-1900. 




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NEW UNDERTAKINGS AND NOTABLE OCCASIONS 101 

Professor Willard had been associated and actively iden- 
tified with the college since the year 1860, when he entered 
it as a second "prep. ;" he was graduated in 1866. During 
all the intervening years he had continued in its connection, 
with the exception of occasional intervals of special study, 
or of other special demands upon him. He therefore was 
•familiar with every event in its checkered career of pros- 
perity and adversity, and had been an active and recognized 
factor in the making of its history from year to year. His 
father, Warren C. Willard, with his elder brother, Silas 
Willard, were substantial and prominent business men, pos- 
sessed of abundant means and of a generous public spirit, 
both of which were enlisted in the up-building and better- 
ment of the city and the college. 

After his graduation Professor Willard taught for a year 
in Knox Academy as instructor in the preparatory Latin 
and Greek. Three years following this were spent in theo- 
logical studies, one year in Chicago Theological Seminary 
and two years at Andover. After graduating from Andover 
a year was spent in travel with his invalid father. Follow- 
ing that a year was spent in Knox College as teacher of 
economics and logic. He was married on July 9, 1873, to 
Miss Mary L. Wolcott, of Batavia, III, whom he had met as 
a student at Knox. He immediately took passage for Ger- 
many, where two years were spent in special study of Greek 
in the University of Leipsic. Upon his return in 1875, he 
entered at once upon his work as a member of the faculty 
of Knox College, as Professor of Greek and German. 

Professor Willard's enthusiastic espousal and unfailing 
support of the department of athletics at Knox has been 
recognized and rewarded in the naming of the athletic field, 
which is now known by the name of "Willard Field." 

When Dr. Thomas McClelland was called to the presi- 
dency of Knox College the office of Dean of the Faculty was 
created and Professor Willard was chosen to perform the 
duties of the position. 

In June, 1912, Dean Willard retired from active service. 
This event -was signalized by many expressions of apprecia- 



102 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

tion and regard, among which one of the most notable was 
the action of the trustees in conferring upon the retiring 
professor the degree, Doctor of Letters. 

With the opening of the year 1900-1901 began the ad- 
ministration of President McClelland. His inauguration 
took place on Founders' Day, February 15, 1901. 

At the time of his election by the trustees of Knox Col- 
lege Dr. McClelland was the president of Pacific University, 
in Oregon. His long career as an educator and college ex- 
ecutive has been characterized by distinguished success. 

We quote from Dr. Simonds, whose association with 
President McClelland upon the faculty of Knox College en- 
ables him to speak with authority. In his article on Knox 
College, in Mr. A. J. Perry's History of Knox County, Dr. 
Simonds, in referring to President McClelland, says: 

"His administration which has continued happily to the 
present time, is perhaps the most significant in the history of 
the institution. 

There has been a visible enlargement in the material equip- 
ment, both in buildings and endowment, and, parallel with this 
substantial increase in the resources, there has been also a 
notable development in the position of the college as a conspic- 
uous factor in the educational work of the middle West. 

In these new phases of its growth, in this development, 
both external and internal, those connected with the college 
and its affairs recognize the results of the wise educational 
policy, intelligent and tactful management and unremitting 
effort of President McClelland." 

President McClelland has the distinction, and doubtless 
also the pleasure, of having been born in Ireland, of good 
old Scotch-Irish stock. When he assumed the presidency of 
Knox College it was with the record of having accomplished 
great things in the resuscitation of a weak and waning in- 
stitution. Although Knox College could not be considered 
as belonging to the same class, it was greatly in need of 
funds for necessary buildings and equipment. In securing 
financial assistance and in strengthening the resources of 
the college. Dr. McClelland has been remarkably successful. 

The wise educational policy of the president has been 




THOMAS McClelland, d. d., ll. d. 

President of Knox College, 1900 — 



NEW UNDERTAKINGS AND NOTABLE OCCASIONS 103 

alluded to. This policy has distinguished him, more than 
any other one thing, as being the exponent and the pro- 
moter of the "college idea" as the policy to which the col- 
leges of our country should firmly and persistently adhere, 
as distinguishing them from the university or the profes- 
sional or technical school. This idea is specifically brought 
out in his inaugural address, in which he contrasts the uni- 
versity and the college. He argues that the university idea 
is specialization, and thus some of the important essentials 
of true education must be wanting. But, he adds : 

"In saying this I derogate nothing from the importance of 
the work which these institutions are doing within their proper 
sphere. Nor must I be regarded as hostile, in any sense, to 
the great university movement of our time, when I say that 
our educational system needs, in order to completeness, just 
those features and characteristics which the college has fur- 
nished in the past. 

The college, as we know it, is a distinctively American 
institution. It has grown up to meet needs peculiar to our 
national life and to our political principles. It has no exact 
parallel in foreign countries. The feature which differenti- 
ates it from the university is its essential idea or aim. * * * * 
The aim of the college is to perfect the man, the aim of the 
university is to fit him for his vocation in life. The one pre- 
pares him to live, the other to earn a living. The difference is 
radical and the institutions developed under the influence of 
these two ideas or aims must be essentially unlike." 

To these ideals and principles as the controlling policy 
of Knox College, President McClelland has strenuously and 
persistently adhered throughout his administration. And 
the more recent trend of thought and sentiment in the minds 
of the leading educators of the country has fully justified 
his position. 

Our president received his Bachelor's and Master's de- 
grees at Oberlin College. He also studied for a year at Ober- 
lin Theological Seminary, another year at Union Theologi- 
cal Seminary, and still another at Andover Theological 
Seminary, from which he was graduated in 1880. He was 
married in August of that same year to Miss Harriet C. Day, 
of Denmark, Iowa, and very soon thereafter entered upon 



104 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

the duties of a professor in the chair of philosophy in Tabor 
College, Iowa. After eleven years of service there he was 
called to the presidency of Pacific University in Oregon in 
1891, receiving from Tabor College the honorary degree of 
D. D. in recognition of those years of service in that insti- 
tution. He remained with Pacific University for nine years, 
in the meantime placing it upon a permanent and prosper- 
ous basis. He assumed the duties of the presidency of Knox 
College in September, 1900. In 1905 he received the honor- 
ary degree of LL. D. from the University of Illinois. He 
has been honored with a position on the Board of Trustees 
of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teach- 
ing since its establishment in 1905. 

The first fruits of the Carnegie Foundation fund in the 
way of a benefit to Knox College were received two years 
after its establishment, upon the retirement of Prof. Henry 
W. Read, after thirty years of faithful service in the class- 
rooms of his Alma Mater. 

Professor Read was graduated from Knox in the class of 
1875, and at once entered upon the duties of an instructor 
in Latin and Greek; he was afterward advanced to a pro- 
fessorship. 

He was a man of fine spirit, of sterling qualities and 
scholarly tastes. He was devoted to historical research, es- 
pecially in reference to local and national history. His writ- 
ten articles and chapel talks upon these subjects were often 
of thrilling interest, and produced a deep and lasting im- 
pression. Although not a participant in the Civil War he 
was a close student of its history ; and it is said that his de- 
scription of the battles of Lookout Mountain and Mission- 
ary Ridge was as vivid as if written by an eye-witness, and 
remarkably realistic. Professor Read, although interested 
in his work, had always longed for the freedom and enjoy- 
ment of out-of-door life, and so, upon his retirement from 
the more exacting duties of a teacher, he sought a home in 
the alluring climate of California, where he now devotes 
himself to the culture of fruits. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE INGATHERING. 

In 1908 the new gymnasium, whose construction the 
students had been watching with interest, was formally ded- 
icated on Founders' Day. A banquet was held in the large 
new hall, the equipment of the building not having yet been 
installed. Five hundred students, alumni and friends gath- 
ered about the tables and the enthusiasm rose to a high 
pitch. This building, with its equipment, cost $30,000. It 
admirably serves the purpose for which it was intended, be- 
ing thoroughly furnished with the most up-to-date appli- 
ances. Its predecessor, the old "Gymn," a monument to the 
efforts of the students, which was erected in 1876, had fallen 
into disuse and disrepute, and in 1904 it was torn down to 
give place to its successor. 

In October of this same year, 1908, occurred the fiftieth 
anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debate. On this oc- 
casion the Hon. William H. Taft, Republican nominee for 
the Presidency of the United States, was the guest of honor 
and the orator of the day. Other speakers of note were U. 
S. Senator Theodore E. Burton, of Ohio; Hon. Adlai E. 
Stevenson, Senator Albert J. Hopkins, of Illinois, and Rob- 
ert Douglas, of North Carolina, a grandson of Stephen A. 
Douglas. 

On this notable occasion, as on all other anniversaries of 
the debate, our distinguished fellow-townsman, Hon. Clark 
E. Carr, presided over the exercises. An invitation was ex- 
tended to all who had attended the original debate fifty 
years before, to find seats upon the platform. Mrs. Henry 
R. Sanderson, who, as the wife of the mayor of the city half 
a century before, entertained Mr. Lincoln in her home, was 
introduced to the assembly. It was estimated that there 
were 25,000 people upon the grounds. 

The last five years of the three-quarters of a century 

(105) 



106 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

which the college completes in this year, 1912, have been 
distinguished by great achievements on the part of the ad- 
ministrative force, and by signal honors to the institution. 
They may be summarized as follows : 

Early in the year 1908, under the stimulating leadership 
of the president, the college entered upon a most important 
undertaking. It was the effort to meet the requirements of 
conditional gifts of $50,000 each from Mr. Andrew Carnegie 
and the General Education Board. These gifts were to be 
immediately available in case the college should secure 
$150,000 in additional contributions toward an endowment 
fund of a quarter of a million. It was an exciting and stren- 
uous campaign, and became more and more so as the end of 
the year allotted for its accomplishment drew near. Commit- 
tees of citizens and students, both men and women, were or- 
ganized to assist in the final effort. Business men left their 
stores and offices, and loyal alumnae left their household 
duties in order to lend their aid at the critical moment. 

Founders' Day, 1909, the day appointed for the final re- 
port, brought with it one of the severest snow storms known 
to this vicinity for many a year. Although the streets were 
blocked and the street car service greatly impaired, never- 
theless many loyal men and even women toiled through 
drifts hoping to get a final favorable answer from dilatory 
and indifferent possible contributors; while the telegraph 
and long distance telephone wires were kept busy flashing 
their messages of inquiry and response, of encouragement 
or disappointment. In the main, however, the outlook was 
hopeful, for on the evening of February 15th, despite the 
storm, Central Church was filled with an enthusiastic com- 
pany of the college contingent and interested citizens who 
had gathered to hear the summing up of the reports and to 
celebrate the achievement of their effort. Nothing like the 
scene of wild rejoicing and unrestrained enthusiasm had 
ever before been witnessed at Knox. It was an event never 
to be forgotten by those who participated in it. 

The full amount of the fund secured reached $260,000, a 
sum sufficient to cover all past indebtedness and to meet the 



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THE INGATHERING 107 

annual expenses of the institution. This amount was made 
up of the contributions from Mr. Carnegie and the General 
Education Board, $88,000 from the citizens of Galesburg, 
large individual gifts from resident trustees of the college, 
and various sums of large or small amounts from Knox 
alumni and friends of the institution scattered throughout 
the country. 

This notable achievement was "a crowning testimonial 
to the deep regard in which Knox College is held by her 
students and friends, as also to the unremitting and hopeful 
efforts of President McClelland and his corps of assistants." 

Scarcely had the enthusiasm aroused by this event sub- 
sided, when, a few weeks later, announcement was made of 
another large donation to the assets of the institution from 
the hands of those benefactors of our city at large, Dr. and 
Mrs. John Van Ness Standish. 

This gift consisted of property valued at more than $75,- 
000. It included their own residence and beautiful grounds 
facing the college campus, to be known as the Standish 
Home for the President of Knox College, and also valuable 
real estate in the city of Chicago. 

In reference to this gift, Dr. Simonds, in his sketch of 
Knox College, says : 

"Dr and Mrs. Standish had lived the greater part of their 
lives in Galesburg contributing to the improvement of the 
city to a degree that cannot be estimated. They had lived be- 
side Knox College for many years and had personally inter- 
ested themselves in beautifying its somewhat neglected cam- 
pus. To them the college owes the present arrangement of 
trees and shrubbery that adorn its grounds, in the later im- 
provement of which the creator of the beautiful Standish 
Park has been an active agent. Furthermore, Dr. and Mrs. 
Standish had devoted their lives to the cause of education, 
and had long planned to bestow their property where it might 
best promote the cause of intelligence and culture after they 
should have passed away. Convinced of the permanency of 
this institution, and of its broadening influence and useful- 
ness, they thus acted, bestowing on Knox the largest single 
gift it has ever received." 

We have quoted thus liberally from Dr. Simonds be- 



108 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

cause his estimate of Dr. and Mrs. Standish is so fine, so 
just, and so admirable in its summing up of the qualities of 
"these twain" who for so many years in our midst have 
walked "side by side, full-summed in all their powers, dis- 
pensing harvest, sowing the To-be, self reverent each and 
reverencing each." It would hardly be possible to over-es- 
timate the value of their service and the beneficence of their 
influence to our colleges and schools, and to our community 
as a whole. 

The college, desiring to give to Dr. and Mrs. Standish 
some public expression of their appreciation of this gift, 
planned a celebration in their honor on October 13, 1909, 
which date is designed as Knox-Galesburg Day, in recog- 
nition of the close relationship existing between the college 
and the city, and therefore a fitting day upon which to do 
honor to these public-spirited benefactors of both college 
and city. 

An informal luncheon was enjoyed in the gymnasium, 
after which exercises appropriate to the occasion were held. 
Rev. Stuart M. Campbell, D. D., the pastor of the Presbyte- 
rian church, made the principal address upon "The Debt of 
Galesburg to Dr. and Mrs. Standish." At the close of the 
address he presented to them a silver loving-cup in the 
name of the college, engraved with this inscription : "In ap- 
preciation of their life-long, broad-minded and far-reaching 
service in behalf of civic improvement and the cause of edu- 
cation, and as a token of the love and esteem in which they 
are held." 

The legitimate results of the year-long endowment cam- 
paign became manifest two years afterward when the beau- 
tiful and splendidly equipped George Davis Science Hall 
was completed and occupied in the autumn of 1911. It is 
fitted up for the use of the three departments of chemistry, 
biology and physics, and is equipped for the special needs 
of all these three departments. It is said to be second to 
none, outside of the universities, in the middle West. It was 
named for a former treasurer of Knox College, in considera- 
tion of the sum of $25,000 given toward its erection by Mr. 



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THE INGATHERING 109 

and Mrs, J. T. McKnight, his daughter, Mary Davis Mc- 
Knight, being a graduate of the college, and Mr. McKnight 
'a member of the Board of Trustees. The cost of the build- 
ing was approximately $115,000. The dedication of Science 
Hall was the feature of the Founders' Day celebration of 
1912. 

At the head of these three science departments are 
men thoroughly qualified by native ability and by special 
training in colleges and universities, both in this country 
and in Europe, for leadership, each in his own field of work. 

The passing of the preparatory department, known and 
loved as Knox Academy, by the students of three quarters 
of a century, awakened memories of the past and emotions 
of regret in the hearts of these same students as for the pass- 
ing of a dear friend. Particularly was this the case with 
those who had been pupils in the Academy under the won- 
derful and inspiring instruction of Professor George 
Churchill, prince of teachers, who for forty-five years was at 
its head. For reasons that seemed sufficient, however, this 
change was made in 1909. 

The fact that the high schools were constantly making 
improvements in their courses of study, by means of which 
pupils were fitted to enter the college course directly from 
the high school, greatly lessened the numbers of those who 
enrolled as students in the Academy, and the most of those 
who entered in the later years of its existence, came merely 
to make up deficiencies that could be otherwise provided 
for. For example, in 1909-10, there were but thirty-five stu- 
dents in the Academy, as compared with 352 in the college, 
136 of whom were regular freshmen. The old Academy 
had served its purpose as one of the potential factors in the 
college during the era of its influence and popularity ; with- 
out it Knox would have lacked much of the prestige and 
success of the past; with it as a center of attractive influ- 
ence there are clustered about its class-rooms some of the 
choicest, most inspiring and enduring memories of life at 
Knox. Blessing and honor to its memory, and to that of its 
peerless principal, George Churchill. 



110 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Knox Academy was discontinued at the close of the 
school year of 1910. At the regular chapel exercises on 
Thursday, March 17th, preceding this significant event, and 
in commemoration thereof. Professor Read presented, in 
vivid outlines, his recollections of Knox Academy. For the 
benefit of former pupils who have known and loved the old 
Academy throughout the years of its existence, we gladly 
incorporate this most interesting sketch in our narrative. 

"I cannot give a connected history of Knox Academy. 
There is not time nor have I the material. I can only men- 
tion a few points, salient or otherwise, as they occur to me. 
I find it will be impossible to separate entirely the history 
of the Academy from that of the College. It is a composite 
history with the Academy factor large at first, and now 
dwindling to the vanishing point. The Academy began to 
be in 1837. It was nine years later, in 1846, when the college 
graduated its first class. In 1851 the college proper had but 
twenty-six students, while the Academy had nearly 300. It 
was not until 1883 that the number of college students 
passed that of the Academy. It must be said, though, that 
the ladies of Knox Seminary were counted separately in 
those days. 

The first Academy building was a small wooden struct- 
ure standing on the corner of what is now Main and Cherry 
streets. The next was a larger brick building where the 
Union Hotel now stands. Then the school was moved to 
'Old Main' and its headquarters were on the first floor, 
northwest corner room. Here Professor Churchill had his 
throne and ruled the kingdom of Prepdom for many years. 
I wish I could picture to you that little old Academy build- 
ing on the corner of Main and Cherry streets. The building 
still stands on Cherry street just north of Main street. It 
was a rectangular structure about as large as a village 
church, two doors on the south and facing Main street; 
within, between the doors, the teachers' desk and the pupils' 
benches facing south. On this floor was Knox Academy. 
No stairway within led up to the half-story above, but there 
was one without on the north end. This upper room was so 
low in the ceiling that one could not stand upright next the 
sides of the building. Two main rooms were here and two 
little cubbies constituted the beginning of the Knox chem- 
ical and physical laboratories. Two teachers had charge of 
these rooms, Professor Losey in charge of Sciences, and Pro- 




GEORGE CHURCHILL 

Principal of Knox Academy, 1855-1900 

"A many-sided man with a large sympathy for young life." 



THE INGATHERING 111 

fessor Grant of the languages. This upper chamber was 
Knox College, the lower Knox Academy. You remember 
Garfield's definition of a college reduced to its lowest terms, 
'A log with a student at one end and Mark Hopkins at the 
other.' Here was little more by way of appointment, and 
yet I venture to say it was a great school from the very first. 
Here were two real teachers and real pupils. The latter had 
grit and fiber, and the open mind which is characteristic of 
the prairies. And here in this building, small and rude, that 
miracle occurred that always happens when real teachers 
and real pupils are brought together. Souls were born again 
into a larger life, horizons widened, noble aims and am- 
bitions were formed to be and to do large things. We meas- 
ure life by quality not quantity, and so must we measure in- 
stitutions. A small school may be of such fine quality that 
it is greater than many a larger one with only quantity to 
boast of. 

It is Kipling, is it not, who wrote, 'The Ship that Found 
Herself.' On her trial trip at first things did not work well. 
The pistons labored, the wheels were rusty, the bearings 
were rough and there was lack of harmony in the parts, but 
presently the pistons moved easily, the bearings were 
smoothed, the wheels hummed and all went well together — 
the ship had found herself. So these prairie boys and girls 
found themselves under the hand of those great teachers. 

The names of those teachers of Knox College and Acad- 
emy whose work is finished, make a shining roll. Losey, 
Grant, Gale, Blanchard, Hitchcock — these are some of them 
of the earlier time. I cannot name them all. Of a later day 
were Bateman, Comstock, Churchill, Hurd — great souls 
these. And then those women : Mary Allen West, Mary El- 
len Ferris, Emma Dunn Palmer, Mrs. McCall and Miss Ida 
McCall. These are some of the names, — a noble line. How 
individual and distinct each was. Each was himself, herself, 
clean-cut as a cameo. And yet there was that which bound 
them all together, something they had in common ; and when 
I try to find out what that something was it seems to me it 
was their view of 'duty' that made them one. T must work 
the work of Him that sent me,' was their motto. They were 
worthy to be inscribed in the list along with the heroes of 
faith mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. They 
all rejoiced to see the glory of this latter day, they saw it 
and were glad. 

The earlier history of Knox Academy and College was 
closely interwoven with that of our country. In 1836 when 



112 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

the Illinois legislature voted a charter to Knox College, 
Abraham Lincoln was one of its members. Later he was 
given the degree of Doctor of Laws by the College and still 
later his son, Mr, Robert Lincoln, was made a member of 
our Board of Trustees. Among that brilliant company of 
lawyers who 'rode the circuit' with Lincoln and Douglas in 
the early days, was Col. Edward Baker, afterward killed at 
the battle of Ball's Bluff in 1862. He was one of Lincoln's 
closest friends and a silver-tongued orator, one of the most 
eloquent of his time. It was a great event for Galesburg 
when Colonel Baker gave one of his stirring addresses on 
the slavery question in the old Academy building. 

Of course, you have all heard of the great debate between 
Lincoln and Douglas held on the east side of the college 
building in 1858. But there was another great debate sev- 
eral years before in which Knox had a part. Dr. Blanchard, 
the lion-hearted, and lion-like in aspect, challenged Douglas 
to a debate on the slavery question. The challenge was ac- 
cepted and the debate was held at Knoxville by the old court 
house still standing in the park. All Knox College went 
over to cheer their champion to victory, and came back feel- 
ing that they had won it. You can find a description of this 
event in Colonel Carr's book, 'The Illini.' 

When I came to Knox Academy in 1870 some of the old- 
er customs and regulations still remained. We of the Acad- 
emy had a separate chapel service on Monday morning. 
The college had both morning and evening prayers. Mon- 
day morning, too, the roll was called to see who had attend- 
ed church the previous day. We had spelling school each 
Monday, and a 'literary exercise' each Friday afternoon. 

As the French statesman said 'I am the state,' so Pro- 
fessor Churchill might have said 'I am the Academy.' I 
wish I could describe him to you ; a large, well-formed man, 
with full, well-trimmed beard, heavy black eyebrows, a 
kindly face, an alert manner, nimble upon his feet as any 
boy, with an endless fund of humor and anecdote, quick of 
tongue as he was of movement. A many-sided man, with a 
large sympathy for young life. His chapel talks were a 
feature of college life. He would read from the old Book and 
comment upon it until it seemed written expressly for our 
day. Ecclesiastes and Proverbs were his favorites. 'If the 
iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put 
to more strength but wisdom is profitable to direct.' This 
would be a text for a sermon on sharpening tools. 'Yet a 
little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to 



THE INGATHERING 113 

sleep : so shall thy poverty come as a robber, and thy want 
as an armed man/ This would be used to shame the lazy 
and indifferent student. He used frequently to read that 
chapter in Genesis in which Israel, on his death bed, proph- 
esies the future of his twelve sons. Then he would assume 
the role of prophet and foretell our futures. On such an oc- 
casion the Reubens had to suffer. 'Unstable as water thou 
shalt not excel.' These he called his 'putty boys,' twisted 
and bent and reshaped by every wind of influence that blew. 
The lesson was often severe but withal so kindly and humor- 
ous that no one could take offence. 

John Eastman was my first tutor at Knox in Latin and 
Greek. He it was who first taught me to love those lan- 
guages. He taught us to dig deep and made us to respect 
sound scholarship. 

Another man who left his mark on the old Academy was 
William P. Northrup, now Dr. Northrup, of New York City. 
Since he left us to commence his medical career in New 
York he has been steadily climbing up in his profession until 
he is near the top. Member of the Board of Bellevue Hos- 
pital, member of the Board of the Presbyterian Hospital, 
member of the Board of the City Hospital — these are some 
of his titles. When Northrup first came to us from Hamil- 
ton College he was a tall, slim, boyish looking lad, with a 
very serious look when there was work to do, but when off 
duty he was a veritable cyclone of fun and infectious good 
humor. The latter quality, no doubt, explains to some ex- 
tent his success in his profession. Northrup was a good 
teacher and set a fast pace for the rest of us teaching in the 
Academy at that time. He and I roomed for a year on the 
third floor of 'Old Main,' he having the southeast corner 
room and I the one adjoining. Our rooms opened into the 
great spaces of the museum, almost empty then, where, when 
at night our study was done, we danced and wrestled and 
'took our exercise,' with only 'John' for company. 'John' 
was a mysterious comrade of ours, of whom we sometimes 
spoke to our friends and at times took some of them up to 
be introduced. 'John' was a very quiet fellow, still to be 
found there, I think, in his glass house just within the 
museum door. 

With the end of this college year the last actor will have 
left the stage of the old Academy and the last scene closes. 
May some historian be found worthy to write her records. 
The Academy passes into history leaving none to regret her 
passing, because her work is finished, but leaving many to 
rejoice that her work was done so well. Her spirit has 



114 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

passed into the college and so long as the college lives the 
soul of the old Academy will go marching on." 

In 1911 a heating and lighting plant was erected at a 
cost of $40,000, By means of this all the buildings belong- 
ing to the college may be heated and lighted from the same 
central plant. 

Knox College is the first educational institution in the 
state, and thus far the only one, to enjoy the benefits of the 
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 
which admits the professors on the Knox faculty to an in- 
come from the retiring allowance provided by that fund. 
This is a gratifying recognition of the high standing which 
our college has reached among the colleges of the country. 

During the year 1910 the Division of Higher Education 
of the United States Bureau of Education conducted an ex- 
amination of the colleges and universities of the United 
States for the purpose of preparing a "classification" with 
reference to bachelor's degrees granted by the colleges and 
universities investigated. The basis of the classification 
was the length of time taken by the graduate of a given col- 
lege or university to secure a master's degree from the grad- 
uate school of some standard university. The classification 
includes four standards as to the time required. 

Class 1 includes those "institutions whose graduates 
would ordinarily be able to take the master's degree at any 
of the large graduate schools in one year after receiving the 
bachelor's degree." In Class 1 are included sixty institu- 
tions of all sorts throughout the country. Of these thirty- 
nine are "universities" and twenty-one are "colleges." Of 
the twenty-one colleges only five are west of the Alleghany 
mountains, the five being Beloit, Grinnell, Knox, Lake For- 
est and Oberlin. 

Another similar recognition and distinction has come to 
Knox in the establishment of a system of exchange profes- 
sorships with Harvard University. The plan came as a pro- 
posal from Harvard. Four representative colleges in four 
western states are included in the arrangement, Knox, Be- 
loit, Grinnell and Colorado. The agreement provides that 




ALISKRT HURD 

As he a])peared at forty years of age. 



IN THE CLASSROOM 

During later years of his long and 
£|>lendid service in Knox College. 




THE INGATHERING IIS 

Harvard shall send a professor for a half year to these col- 
leges, dividing his time equally among them and giving such 
regular instruction in their courses as they may require. 
In return each one of the colleges is entitled to send one of 
its instructors to Harvard each year, for half a year, with 
the understanding that he is to devote one-third of his time 
as an assistant and the other two-thirds to graduate or re- 
search work in the University." 

The plan went into operation in 1912. Albert Bushnell 
Hart, Eaton Professor of the Science of Government at Har- 
vard University, spent the month of February at Knox Col- 
lege. He gave courses in American History, American Gov- 
ernment, and a series of eight public lectures on American 
Biography. He also delivered four illustrated lectures on 
Japan, China, India, and the Philippine Islands. 

Knox College will be represented at Harvard during the 
coming school year by Professor Dwight E. Watkins, of the 
Department of Public Speaking and Dramatic Literature. 

As we have already seen, our college has never attempted 
the work of a university or professional school, but has al- 
ways stood for recognized college work, for the ideal of a 
strictly collegiate education. These ideals have been justi- 
fied and fulfilled; notwithstanding reverses and periods of 
crucial testing and transformation, the progress has 
been steadily onward and upward. Its curriculum 
has been improved until it has reached a high 
standard, and its faculty has been increased from time to 
time until it now numbers twenty-three active members. Its 
equipment has been greatly enlarged, and, although the lines 
of classification and admission are more closely drawn than 
heretofore, the number of students in attendance has stead- 
ily increased until at this time, in the seventy-fifth year of 
its existence, the records show an enrollment of 346 college 
students. The department of the Knox Conservatory of 
Music has kept pace side by side with the college in its on- 
ward march of development and progress, and now in its 
thirtieth year its faculty numbers nine active members, and 
it records an enrollment of 256 students. 



CHAPTER XVI 

OUR ASSETS. 

To make a just and accurate inventory of our assets, we 
should begin with the name of George W. Gale and finish 
with that of Thomas McClelland. On the pages of the ledger 
included between these two names may be found columns 
upon columns of figures representing money, and many 
thousands of names representing men; or more specifically 
and definitely speaking, they represent the manhood and the 
womanhood of "Old Knox." 

Money and men ! These are our assets. Both are signi- 
ficant terms, suggesting all that we have been or hope to 
be. Both have been essential factors in our existence as an 
institution. The one has laid the foundations of this college 
of our love and loyal devotion. The other is that goodly sup- 
erstructure which stands in the dignity and strength of well- 
proportioned manhood and womanhood as "the outward and 
visible sign of inward and spiritual grace." Neither could 
have performed its own especial function in the upbuilding 
of the structure without the other. Both have been wrought 
by the hand of the Great Architect into every detail of plan 
and execution, of hope and fulfillment, of purpose and 
achievement throughout the years. 

The money may be counted by the millions ; the men by 
the thousands. And yet, paradoxical as it may seem, the 
thousands represent the greater value. The contributions 
in money to the founding and endowment of the college 
have ranged in amounts from one dollar to nearly one hun- 
dred thousand dollars. And, still another paradox, the 
largest givers are represented by the smallest gifts. The 
names and contributions of the one class are perpetuated 
upon our records ; those of the other class are lost to sight. 
Both have been vitally essential to our well-being. 

(116) 




HENRY HITCHCOCK 
Division Supetintendent, C. B. \' O. 



J. T. Mcknight 




JUDGE A. M. CRAIG 



JOHN P. WILSON, Esq. 



Members of the Board of Trustees, who have contributed liberally to the 
endowment of the College. 



OUR ASSETS 117 

Our assets in money may be classified as cash, notes, 
scholarships, prizes, endowments, buildings and real estate. 
Our assets in men include our founders and promoters, our 
presidents, professors, instructors, graduates, students not 
graduates, trustees, business managers and friends. 

Among our graduates may be found a numerous and 
notable company of missionaries who have been, or are now, 
engaged upon both foreign and home fields. The Knox con- 
stituency representing her in this particular line of work 
is so remarkable that it has been considered worthy of com- 
memoration in a pamphlet compiled by the college librarian. 
Miss Jessie R. Holmes, and which may be found in the 
college library. It is a most interesting and valuable his- 
torical document. 

Professional educational, literary and business life, the 
newspapers, the shop, the farm, the arts and crafts, all 
these, in their various forms of human activity, are repre- 
sented by the graduates and students of Knox. 

As to our faculty, past and present, who can measure 
their influence and their worth? While some of the older 
members of the faculty, because of their connection with 
the college in the formative and more critical period of its 
history, or because of a long term of service in its class- 
rooms, receive especial mention, there is no thought of dis- 
paraging the service of those whose periods belong in 
more recent and less strenuous years. 

Foremost among the men who shaped the policy and es- 
tablished the permanency of the institution was Dr. Jona- 
than Blanchard, the second president of Knox College. His 
administration, covering a period of thirteen years, 1845- 
1858, left an indelible impression upon the student body of 
that period and upon the community as well. He was a man 
of fine physique, large and well-proportioned, a giant in in- 
tellect, of indomitable will and unswerving purpose. These 
natural qualities, while they oft-times aroused opposition 
and stimulated controversy, were also the source of his re- 
markable influence upon the students under his charge, 
arousing them to a sense of their own inherent intellectual 



118 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

and moral possibilities and stimulating them to strive for 
the highest ideals in personal development and culture. As 
a public speaker he was logical, forceful, eloquent and cap- 
tivating. As an executive officer he was able, influential, 
tireless and successful. By means of his personal influence 
and unceasing efforts, he secured large contributions to the 
endowment and equipment of the college which were of in- 
estimable benefit to the institution in those early days of its 
struggle for a position of influence and power in this, then 
unoccupied but richly promising, territory of the middle 
West, His affection for his students was deep and abiding, 
and the magnetism of his strong and winning personality 
drew them into an intimate and loyal comradeship with him 
which continued with them as a helpful and inspiring mem- 
ory throughout the years. His chapel talks, so often referred 
to by the students and citizens of that period, were to a large 
degree the means by which he won and held the confidence 
and the devotion of his followers. 

Two men of the Knox faculty of those earliest days, 
and three men whose terms of service were practically co- 
extensive, covering half a century of the life of the insti- 
tution, deserve more than our customary tribute of honor 
and remembrance. They are Professors Nehemiah H. 
Losey and Inness Grant of the first period and our noble 
"Knox Triumvirate," Professors Hurd, Comstock and 
Churchill, of the second period. The two first named have 
been admirably characterized by Professor George 
Churchill in an address which he made at the first celebra- 
tion in observance of Founders' Day in 1904, and from 
which we quote. 

Professor Churchill said : 

"As I call up my boyhood memories of the first few years 
of the school, one now stands in the forefront as its presiding 
genius, and that man was Professor N. H. Losey. He was 
an 'all 'round man ;' good in everything ; could teach Greek 
and Latin if necessary, was thoroughly at home in mathe- 
matics, quick and accurate in his calculations, remarkably 
clear and concise in his explanations, showing up the curiosi- 
ties and mysteries of mathematics in such a way as to arouse 



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OUR ASSETS 119 

all the enthusiasm there was in his pupils. I think it is espec- 
ially due to Professor N. H. Losey that Knox College has, 
from the first, taken high rank in its teaching of mathematics. 
But not in this line was Professor Losey's great power during 
the first few years of the school ; it was rather in physics and 
chemistry that he excelled. With almost no apparatus to 
begin with, in a short time he had constructed such laboratory 
appliances as to enable him to show off the wonders of those 
sciences in such a way as to attract large numbers of scholars 

from the surrounding country When he lectured 

on chemistry, not only the students and the colonists were 
attentive listeners, but the people from the groves round about 
came for miles and gazed with wonder and admiration at his 
experiments with electricity, olefiant gas, laughing gas, and 
magic lantern shows of things comical and instructive. Then, 
too, he was a good organizer, a strict disciplinarian, a good 
manager and always a true gentleman." 

He continues: 

"I have spoken of Professor Losey as one whose life and 
labors had great influence in giving a decided character for 
good to the school. In this line the name of Professor Inness 
Grant should always be associated with that of Professor 
Losey ; not that the two men were alike, for they were totally 
unlike, and yet each had the power to inspire and lead young 
men into their respective fields of study. Professor Grant was 
a Scotchman, possessing to the full all the sterling virtues of 
his nature, quaint in his language, always saying just what 
he meant and saying it so that the hearer had no trouble in un- 
derstanding the pith of the matter ; a man with profound con- 
victions on the great questions of the day and fearless in the 
expressions of these opinions. He despised men of mere 
pretense, but admired those who lived and acted under a true 
devotion to duty. His ringing speeches to the students to work 
because it was their duty to themselves, to their parents, to 
their friends and to God, inspired hundreds of them and made 
them nobler and better men." 

Another graduate says, in speaking of the early teach- 
ers: "The older graduates treasure a vivid recollection of 
their professor of ancient languages, Inness Grant, not only 
for his learning, but also for his originality and quick wit." 

And now we come to our "Triumvirate," in whose 
honor the alumni, students and friends of the college have 
united during this Jubilee year in the erection of a fitting 



120 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

memorial. This tribute, "The Triumvirate Memorial Or- 
gan," in the erection of which so many of their former pu- 
pils had so large a share, and the dedication of which forms 
a conspicuous feature of the exercises of Jubilee week, is 
especially appropriate as a means of perpetuating their 
names and their memories in the hearts of those who have 
loved and admired each one of them as teacher and friend. 

The characteristics of the three men were vividly por- 
trayed by Professor T. R. Willard in a chapel talk which 
he gave to the students and friends who gathered for the 
Founders' Day morning service of the present Jubilee 
year. His talk, which was of a reminiscent nature appro- 
priate to the occasion, was illustrated by pictures thrown 
upon the screen, and was full of historic interest. By his 
permission we quote freely. 

Professor Willard said: 

'T entered Knox Academy as a boy of fifteen, and was for 
two years under the regime of that King of Prepdom, Pro- 
fessor George Churchill. Our king was a gifted man. Added 
to the disposition and the ability to get at fundamental truth, 
he had great powers of reason and imagination. Broad in 
his knowledge he knew how to illustrate and illuminate the 
principle he would inculcate from sources the most various 
and the most unexpected. Moreover, he was endowed with 
such wit and humor as to keep the mind of the student awake 
and alert. Quick, energetic, untiring, thorough, his instruction 
was in the highest degree formative and stimulating. He had 
traveled much and his observant, receptive, retentive mind as- 
similated everything, so that it was ready for use at the mo- 
ment of use, transformed and transfused by his own abso- 
lutely unique personality. Whatever he taught — music, math- 
ematics, language, natural science, the Bible, it was in this 
vivifying, inspiring style that demanded and commanded the 
attention and interest of the pupil. To the highest welfare of 
all his pupils he gave himself with all his heart and was ever 
a wise, appreciative, sympathetic friend. 

Professor Churchill possessed also in a high degree what 
has been, and still is, characteristic of the teachers of Knox, 
a willingness to acknowledge obligation to the church and 
to the community in which he lived and to do the things which 
this obligation involved. For more than a quarter of a cen- 
tury he was superintendent of the Sunday school of the old 



OUR ASSETS 121 

First Church. His portrait hangs on the wall of Central 
Church to-day, but a better one far, full of life, electrifying, 
energizing, radiant with affectionate interest in those com- 
mitted to his care and guidance hangs in the memories of hun- 
dreds who never enjoyed his instruction in college halls. Su- 
perintendent Steele's valuable 'History of the Galesburg Pub 
lie Schools' has as its frontispiece an excellent portrait of 
Professor Churchill, with this title, 'George Churchill, founder 
of the Galesburg Public Schools.' What such a founder 
would do for such a foundation must suggest what I have 
not time nor space to say of Galesburg's debt to the one 
member of our faculty for this most valuable of its municipal 
assets. Galesburg is also more indebted to Professor Church- 
ill than to any other for its paved streets and its paving brick 
industry. For years he was City Engineer, and, at his sug- 
gestion and under his direction, a test was made of brick 
paving in general and of Galesburg brick in particular, at the 
intersections of Seminary and Tompkins Streets. That was 
nearly thirty years ago and it proved so successful that now 
Galesburg has nearly thirty miles of paved streets. 

Professor Milton L. Comstock taught our class mathemat- 
ics, physics and astronomy. In some respects he was the 
counterpart of his brother-in-law and classmate. Professor 
Churchill. While the latter was vivacious and energetic in 
manner. Professor Comstock was mild and serene. His tem- 
per was calm and judicial, and in one of the hot 'scraps' that 
characterized the career of the class of 1882, he was the stu- 
dents' choice for chairman of a critical meeting, at which 
some decisive action was to be taken. He loved learning for 
learning's sake and his scholarship was broad and accurate. 
. . . . Now I come to one who for fifty-five years was an 
active professor at Knox and doubtless did the most to deter- 
mine the character of its instruction, and to put his impress 
upon the intellectual habits of its students — Professor Albert 
Hurd. 'Noblest Roman of them all,' has ever been our in- 
voluntary tribute, and the college has reason to congratulate 
itself upon the possession of so satisfactory a portrait in oil 
presented by his friends and admirers. The gifts, the culture, 
the disciplined power, the ardor and the devotion that he gave 
to the college of his heart, can be spread upon no canvas, 
can find no portrayal in words. Clean cut as a cameo were 
his features, but the expression of his thought had the defin- 
iteness of outline and the distinctness of projection of a math- 
ematical figure. His expression was clear and vivid because 
his own conception was so, and his command of speech, his 



122 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

lively imagination, his chaste taste found evermore the fitting 
word. Truth with him was something sacred, and his tem- 
perament was volcanic so that no student cared to trifle 
either with the truth or with the Professor. But intense as 
were his feelings, strenuous as were his labors, his energies 
seemed never to tire, never even to flag. His physical powers 
seemed able to meet any strain he might make upon them. 
During a large part of his life he was doing the work of two 
or three men, and yet when he was past middle age he made 
the remark that he did not know what it was to be tired. . . . 

That which was most characteristic of Professor Hurd 
was his absolute unselfishness toward the institution to which 
he had consecrated his life. The fact has been mentioned that 
he was often doing the work of two or three men, but for this 
he would accept no more than his meagre salary ; and if the 
trustees insisted upon giving him additional compensation, it 
was accepted only on condition that it might be used for im- 
proving the equipment of the institution. 

Neither were Professor Kurd's services confined to the 
college. The community shared the benefit of them as truly 
as of Prof. Churchill's. Before I had become a student in 
Knox, my imagination had been quickened and my appetite 
for knowledge sharpened by Prof. Kurd's popular lectures on 
geology. He, too, was a most acceptable teacher in the Sun- 
day schools. 

As Professor Churchill's portrait appears in the "History of 
the Galesburg Public Schools" as "The Founder of the Public 
Schools of Galesburg," so might any history of the Public Li- 
brary bear upon its frontispiece a portrait of Professor Hurd 
with the title Albert Hurd, Founder of the Galesburg Public 
Library. For years, and without salary, Prof. Hurd was 
librarian of the Young Men's Library, the care of which the 
city later assumed as the Public Library. 

The community may well note that it is indebted to the 
present president of the college for Mr. Carnegie's gift of 
$50,000, which made the adequate and beautiful building 
for the Public Library a possibility." 

Other names which add lustre to the fame of our col- 
lege are those of John W. Burgess, of Columbia Univer- 
sity; Melville B. Anderson, of Leland Stanford Univer- 
sity; Jeremiah W. Jenks, of Cornell University; Willis J. 
Beecher, recently deceased, and late of Auburn Theologi- 
cal Seminary and Malvina M. Bennett, of Wellesley Col- 




PROFESSOR MILTON L. COMSTOCK 

"He loved learning for learning's sake and his scholarship was hroad and 
accnrate." 




PROFESSOR ALBERT HURD 
"Noblest Roman of them all." 



OUR ASSETS 123 

lege. We esteem it a high honor that we may claim them 
as having been, at one time, members of our faculty. Their 
services at Knox left a strong impress upon the life of the 
college, the memory and the influence of which is felt to this 
day. Their distinguished success during the years subse- 
quent to their service at Knox gives an enviable prestige to 
our institution because of the fact that we may reckon their 
names and their fame among our own assets. 

The reputation of Drs. Burgess and Jenks is such as to 
make further comment unnecessary, except to say that, 
while here, in the modest environment of our prairie col- 
lege, their work gave promise of the conspicuous success 
which they have since achieved. Professor Beecher went 
from here many years ago to Auburn Theological Semin- 
ary, where he remained until his death a few weeks since 
an honored professor, a gifted writer, and an authority 
upon those questions with which the schools of theology 
of the present day have to cope. 

Miss Bennett, undoubtedly more than the others, en- 
tered into the very heart of things at Knox during her ten 
years of service as teacher of the art of public speaking. It 
was under her regime as the head of this department that 
our college achieved the most brilliant of its oratorical 
successes. Not only was this because of her ability as a 
teacher, but her personal magnetism also had much to do 
with her success. She inspired her pupils with a confi- 
dence in their own powers, and she awakened dormant 
talent in others which would not otherwise have become 
evident ; and thus enabled them to win a series of triumphs 
seldom varied by defeat. Her tactful management of this 
department placed it upon the permanent basis which has 
since distinguished it. 

Especial mention should be made of those two bearing 
the same name, actuated by the same lofty ideals, inspired 
by the same enthusiasms who as mother and daughter 
taught side by side in the class-rooms of Knox Academy for 
nearly a quarter of a century — Mrs. Sara M. McCall and 
Miss Ida M. McCall. The ties which bound their hearts to- 



124 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

gether as one were tender and strong; the pride and joy of 
the mother in the career of her talented daughter, the devo- 
tion and watchful solicitude of the daughter, were touching 
and beautiful to behold. No one could fail to notice the in- 
timate and loving relationship of this mother and daughter 
as they walked together to and fro over the familiar path- 
way, trodden for so many years, to their daily tasks. 

Mrs. McCall's period of service as an instructor in Knox 
Academy began in 1865, and, with the exception of seven 
years from 1869 to 1876 when she taught in the Galesburg 
High School, she continued in uninterrupted connection 
with the college until 1902 when failing health brought to 
an end her life-long work as a teacher.* Mrs. McCall was 
graduated from Mount Holyoke Seminary in the class of 
1851, and the training which she received in that notable in- 
stitution, together with her natural gifts as a teacher, as- 
sured to her from the beginning the success which she after- 
ward achieved in her profession. As has been mentioned in 
an early part of this narrative, she taught in the South for a 
number of years with her husband until his death. Then 
coming to friends in the North, with her two little daughters, 
she bravely took up the struggle for their maintenance and 
education, and nobly and successfully did she fulfill the 
task. Mrs. McCall was "distinguished for qualities of mind 
and person combining in a rare degree intellectual and so- 
cial graces." 

Miss Ida McCall was graduated from Knox Seminary in 
1875, and after some years of service in Rushville and later 
in the Galesburg High School, she found her fitting place in 
that class room in Knox Academy where her unique career 
as a teacher found full development and consummation. 
After twenty-three years of devoted service her retirement 
from active work was the source of unbounded regret to all. 
It has been said of her that "while skillful in any depart- 
ment to which she may have been assigned, it was notably 



*The Knox catalogue of 1858 gives the name of Mrs. Sara McCall 
as a teacher in the academic department. We find that at that time 
Mrs. McCall taught for a year before going South with her husband. 




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OUR ASSETS 125 

as a teacher of Latin that she became famous. In addition 
to the mastery of the language, Miss McCall had a gift of 
teaching all her own and could throw around her work a 
certain halo almost irresistible." 

In the foregoing personal references we have striven to 
pay tribute to some of those to whom tribute is due. We 
fear that many have been omitted who should have re- 
ceived especial mention. We crave the lenient judgment 
of the critics, with the hope that the historian of our cen- 
tennial anniversary will gather up and unite the broken 
threads of the story and present a more complete and per- 
fect narrative of the events of a century of achievement 
and honor. 

There is also another body of men, the present faculty 
of Knox, whom, as Profesor Willard has frequently said, 
"it is even more important that the friends of the college 
should know and appreciate." Furthermore, he says: 
"The welfare of the college is in their keeping, and it has 
been my pleasure, as I have regarded it as my duty, on 
every possible occasion to declare it my conviction that it 
could not be lodged in better hands. Trained for the re- 
quirements of modern education, keeping step with its ad- 
vance, interested in their pupils personally, and on the best 
of footing with them, good citizens, doing their full duty 
in the community where their lot is cast, strongly religious 
without narrowness or bigotry, these teachers deserve the 
confidence of every friend of the college." 

Here, then, we come to the summing up of our assets 
in money and in men. We append a list of the names of 
persons whose individual contributions range in amounts 
of from $10,000.00 to $75,000.00. They are the leaders of a 
long and honorable procession of the benefactors of Knox. 
Mr. J. P. Williston, of Northampton, Mass., and Charles 
Phelps, Esq., of Cincinnati, were the first contributors of 
any considerable amounts to the endowment of our insti- 
tution. Their gifts were made in the first decade of its his- 
tory; at that time they were recognized as a part of its 
endowment, and the names of the donors were used in 



126 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

connection therewith. One of the buildings — the "West 
Bricks" — was named Williston Hall and the chair of the 
professor of modern languages was called the Phelps 
Professorship. For some unknown reason these names 
have disappeared from our catalogue. 

Mention should also be made of the fact that the in- 
come from the fund contributed by Dr. D. K. Pearsons is 
devoted to the maintenance of a Latin professorship in the 
college called the Bascom Professorship. This was done 
at the request of Dr. Pearsons in memory of his friend, the 
Rev. Dr. Flavel Bascom, an honored and valued trustee of 
the college and a revered and greatly beloved pastor of the 
old First Church in the early days. 

There are many contributors of five thousand, two 
thousand, one thousand, five hundred dollars and less 
amounts which largely increase our lists, and gladly would 
we preserve their names in this record, but for lack of 
space. A thrilling and inspiring sight it would be, indeed, 
could all our benefactors and friends be marshalled before 
us in the academic processions in celebration of our seven- 
ty-fifth anniversary. 

The following are the names of those who have been 
the larger contributors in the past twenty-five years: 

Henry Hitchcock, Supt. C. B. and Q. R. R. 

Dr. D. K. Pearsons. 

Mr. and Mrs. George A, Lawrence. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus M. Avery. 

Mr. and Mrs. J. T. McKnight. 

Judge Alfred M. Craig, 

Robert Mather. 

Miss Ellen B. Scripps. 

John P. Wilson. 

S. S. McClure. 

Andrew Carnegie. 

General Education Board. 

Dr. and Mrs. J. V. N. Standish. 

The amounts affixed to these names, together with the 
amounts contributed by many hundreds of others through- 




CYRUS M. AVERY 

Class of 1868 



GEORGE A. LAWRENCE 
Class of 1875 




SAMUEL S. McCLURE 
Class of 1882 



ROBERT MATHER 
Class of 1882 



Graduates of Knox, member? of the Board of Trustees and liberal contribu- 
tors to the endowment of the College. 



OUR ASSETS 127 

out the three-quarters of a century, stand upon our rec- 
ords as our assets in money. 

Our assets in men can only be estimated by a close 
study of the history of the college during the past seventy- 
five years, by taking account of the character and worth 
of our constituency throughout all these years, and by a 
far outlook into the future. 

May not the names of our college presidents, indicating 
by their periods of service the different epochs in our his- 
tory, stand as the representatives and the exponents of this 
summary of the more valuable of our assets? What more 
fitting final word can be given to this narrative than by 
using these names as the casket in which are enclosed the 
memories of the years that are past and the prophecies of 
those to come? 

Hiram Kellogg, 1838-45. 

Jonathan Blanchard, 1845-58. 

Harvey Curtis, 1858-63. 

Wm. Stanton Curtis, 1863-68. 

John P. Gulliver, 1868-71. 

Newton Bateman, 1874-92. 

John H. Finley, 1892-99. 

Thomas McClelland, 1900. 



THE END. 




THE WAY TO KNOX 



Knox College 

The Sixty-seventh Annual 

COMMENCEMENT 

AND 

SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY 

OF THE Founding 

June 7 to 13, 1912 

General Program of Events 

Details of Arrangements 

Principal Addresses 



(129) 



130 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

[A general program of events including the arrangements in 
detail was prepared by the committee and widely circulated pre- 
vious to the celebration. It is here reproduced.] 

GENERAL STATEMENT 

To Knox College belongs the unique distinction of being 
"the college that founded a city." Knox College and the city 
of Galesburg had their inception in plans made by a group of 
idealistic New Yorkers of New England parentage, led by the 
Rev. George W. Gale, to found a college on the fertile prairies 
of the central west in order to train the leadership needed for 
the great population destined to fill that region. The plan was 
to raise money by subscription to buy a township of land in 
Illinois, buying it from the government at $1.25 an acre. Then 
the subscribers were to buy the land back from the college at 
$5.00 an acre and endow the college with the surplus over the 
original cost. Knox College and the city of Galesburg were 
the result of this plan. Not only did the plan involve foresight 
and high idealism, but its completion also meant the hardships 
and privations of pioneer life as well as great sacrifice and rare 
courage. 

It is now three-quarters of a century since the founding of 
the college and the city and it is most fitting that the anniver- 
sary should be celebrated with special ceremonies at the com- 
ing Commencement of the college, A cordial invitation is 
extended to all former residents of the city and to all former 
students and friends of the college to make Commencement 
Week a home-coming week. Visitors are assured that no 
pains will be spared on the part of the citizens of Galesburg 
and of the various committees to make their stay in Galesburg 
as pleasant as possible. 

THE PROGRAM 
Friday, June 7 

8:00 p. m. Beecher Chapel — Declamation Contests. Four young men 
and four young women will compete in these contests. 
Music by Misses Peterson and Campbell, and Mr. Halla- 
day. 

Saturday, June 8 

8:00 p. m. Central Church — Dedication of the Triumvirate Organ, 
Professor John Winter Thompson, assisted by Mrs. E. E. 
Hinchliff and Miss Alice May Carley. 

Sunday, June 9 

10:30 a. m. Presbyterian Church — Baccalaureate Sermon, by Presi- 
dent McClelland. Presbyterian Church Choir, W. B. 
Carlton, Chorister. 



GENERAL PROGRAM OF EVENTS 131 

7 :30 p. m. Central Church — Address before the Christian Associa- 
tions, Rev. William E. Barton, Oak Park. Central Church 
Choir, W. F. Bentley, Chorister. 

Monday, June 10 

10:00 a. m. Highland Lake — Regatta. 

3 :00 p. m. Knox Campus — Class Day Exercises. The Class Day 
Exercises will take the unusual form of a Greek Drama 
this year and the class history will have a classic presen- 
tation. 

8 :00 p. m. Beecher Chapel — Commencement Concert by the Grad- 
uating Class of the Knox Conservatory of Music, assisted 
by the Conservatory Orchestra, G. A. Stout, Conductor. 

Tuesday, June 11 

9 :00 a. m. "Old Main"— Meeting of the Board of Trustees. 

9 :30 a. m. L. M. L Hall— Reunion of the L. M. I. Society. 

12 :00 m. Class Reunions. 

The places of meeting of the various classes have not 
all been finally settled. Final announcement will be made 
in the program published during Commencement Week. 

5 :00 p. m. Central Church. Reunion and supper of the Alumni and 
Alumnae of the Conservatory of Music. This first re- 
union and supper of the Conservatory Alumni promises to 
be a most interesting event. 

8:15 p. m. Auditorium — Senior Class Play, "The Melting Pot." 

The Class Play has come in recent years to be the most 
popular event of Commencement week. The cast this 
year is pronounced by Professor Watkins an exceptionally 
strong one. The play itself is too well known to need 
comment. 

Wednesday, June 12 

10:00 a. m. Beecher Chapel — Alumni Chapel Service, in charge of 
the Rev. Stuart M. Campbell, '88. Miss Ethel Gates, '10, 
organist. Songs by Miss Johnston, '08, and others. An- 
nual Meeting of the Alumni Association. Election of 
Officers. 
12:00 m. Reunions of the Adelphi and Gnothautii Literary Socie- 
ties. 

4:00 p. m. Knox Campus— The Coburn Players will present Shakes- 
peare's "Twelfth Night." The college is fortunate in 
having this excellent company of players during Com- 
mencement Week. 

8 :00 p. m. Central Church— Address before the Alumni by Edgar 
A. Bancroft, '78, of Chicago. The Alumni address is an- 
nually looked forward to with much expectancy. Mr. 
Bancroft's address will be in keeping with the fine Knox 
tradition. 

9 :30 p. m. Immediately after Mr. Bancroft's address the President's 
reception will be held in the parlors of the church. 



132 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Thursday, June 13 

9:30 a. m. Commencement Procession from "Old Main" to the Cen- 
tral Church, led by the College Band. Academic costume 
will be worn. 

10:00 a. m. Central Church — Commencement Exercises. Music, Or- 
gan Processional, Prof. John Winter Thompson. Invo- 
cation. "Our College and the Education of Women," 
Gladys M. Campbell. "Galesburg before the Industrial 
Revolution," Helen M. Ryan. "Environment and Civili- 
zation," Martha L. Latimer. "A Natural Foundation for 
the Peace Movement," Jesse A. Crafton. Music, "Water 
Lilies," The Girls' Glee Club. "The Reform Movement 
in Education," Josephine Wible. "The Re-Alignment of 
Political Parties," Palmer D. Edmunds. "Political Al- 
truism," Robert W. Caldwell. "The Advance of the Pro- 
gressive," Ray L. Sauter. Music, Organ, Selected, Prof. 
John Winter Thompson. Conferring of Degrees. An- 
nouncing of Honors and Award of Prizes. Benediction. 
12 :30-2 :00 p. m. Galesburg Club — Luncheon for Representatives of 
Colleges and Universities. 

2 :30 p. m. Academic Procession from "Old Main" to the Central 
Church, led by the College Band. Academic costume will 
be worn. 

3 :00 p. m. Central Church — Exercises in Commemoration of the 
Seventy-fifth Anniversary. Address by President John 
Huston Finlej% '87, of the College of the City of New 
York. Congratulatory addresses will be made by repre- 
sentatives of colleges and universities, among them Pres- 
ident Edward D. Eaton of Beloit College, President John 
S. NoUen of Lake Forest College, and President Charles 
A. Blanchard, of Wheaton College. Music by the Knox 
Conservatory Orchestra and the College Glee Club. 

5.00 p. m. Knox Campus — Historical Pageant, illustrating the his- 
tory of the founding of the College and the city of 
Galesburg, Music by the College Band and Glee Club, 
and the Knox Conservatory Orchestra. 

7:00 p. m. Central Church — Alumni Dinner. President John Huston 
Finley, '87, Toastmaster. Music by the combined Glee 
Clubs of past and present. 



GENERAL INFORMATION 

Committee Headquarters 

The headquarters of the various committees will be at the 
College Library in Alumni Hall, where registration will take 
place and places of entertainment be assigned and tickets (for 
which application has previously been made) to the various 
events of Commencement will be given out. The visitor's 
record will be kept there and all visitors are requested to reg- 
ister their names immediately on their arrival in Galesburg. 



GENERAL PROGRAM OF EVENTS 133 

Members of the committee of entertainment will be con- 
stantly on hand to answer inquiries and to render service to all 
visitors. 

Visitors' Directory 

A Directory, containing the names of all guests and visiting 
Alumni and the addresses at which they may be found while 
in Galesburg and also the names and addresses of resident 
Alumni, will be issued on Monday morning, June 10th, and a 
revised edition of the same Wednesday morning, June 13. In 
order that this may be accurate and complete, it is exceed- 
ingly important that all those expecting to attend the exer- 
cises should fill out and return the enclosed card at once. 
Also it is desired that all those residents of Galesburg who are 
expecting to entertain guests should send the names and ad- 
dresses of their guests to the committee at the earliest possible 
moment. The committee may be reached by telephone as 
follows : Until June 6, at "Old Main," new phone. No. 1898 
main. After June 6, at Alumni Hall, new phone 2548 main. 

Entertainment 

The entertainment committee will, if requested, assist visi- 
tors in securing boarding places in private homes and board- 
ing houses. Such accommodations can be secured for all who 
wish them at the rate of $1.25 to $1.75 per day for board and 
room. Applications should be made as early as possible in 
advance and should be specific as to the time of intended 
arrival in Galesburg and the period for which accommodations 
are desired. 

If room without board is desired, that should be stated on 
the enclosed card. 

The card must be returned before June 6. 

Distribution of Tickets 
A. tickets furnished by the college, no admission charge 

The Declamation Contests. 

The Baccalaureate Service. 

The Address before the Christian Associations. 

The Class Day Exercises. 

The Alumni Address. 

The Commemoration Celebration. 

The Historical Pageant (25c for reserved seats). 

The distribution of tickets for these events is in charge 
of the committee on the distribution of tickets, Mr. Kellogg 
D. McClelland, chairman. All representatives of other insti- 
tutions and invited guests and all alumni or alumnae of the 



134 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

college are entitled to two tickets for each of these events and 
are requested to state on the enclosed card for what events 
they wish tickets. This card should be returned to the com- 
mittee not later than June 6. If the card is returned to the 
committee as directed, tickets will be in readiness for the ap- 
plicant at the place of registration upon arrival in Galesburg 

B. TICKETS OFFERED FOR SALE 

The events included in this group are: 

The Dedication of the Triumvirate Organ of Central 
Church. 

The Commencement Concert of the Conservatory of Music. 

The Reunion and Supper of the Conservatory Alumni. 

The Senior Class Play. 

The Adelphi Reunion Dinner. 

The Gnothautii Reunion Dinner. 

The Coburn Players, "Twelfth Night." 

The Historical Pageant (reserved seats). 

The Alumni Banquet. 

Orders for tickets included in this group must be received 
by the committee not later than June 6, and must be accom- 
panied by remittance. It should be stated on the enclosed 
card how many tickets are desired for each event, and at what 
price, if the prices vary. 

The Senior Class Play 

The Class Play, presented by the Senior class, will be 
Israel Zangwill's "The Melting Pot." The play will be pre- 
sented at the Auditorium on Tuesday evening, June 11, at 8:15 
o'clock. The entire distribution of the seats is in the hands of 
the Senior class. Orders for the reservation of seats, how- 
ever, may be made through the committee on general ar- 
rangements by use of the enclosed card. The prices for the 
seats will be 50c, 75c and $1.00, depending upon location. 
Orders should be sent in before June 6 in order to secure good 
seats, since the demand for good seats exceeds the supply each 
year. 

Historical Pageant 

On the evening of Commencement Day, at 5 o'clock, the 
Historical Pageant of Knox College and Galesburg will be 
presented on the campus, south of "Old Main." 

The pageant is divided into six epochs, each one covering 
some particular feature in the historical past of Knox and 
Galesburg. The first episode will deal with the country in 
the prairie days when the Indians roamed over the spot now 



GENERAL PROGRAM OF EVENTS 135 

occupied by the city. The aborigines will be illustrated by a 
band of red men in sports and games characteristic of the 
race. A tableau showing the signing of the plan for the 
Galesburg colony, before they set out from Whitesboro, N, Y., 
will be the principal feature of this scene. 

In the second episode the arrival of the colonists at Log 
City in 1837 will be shown. 

"The Underground Railway" and the work of Galesburg 
in this system will be the theme of a third episode. Follow- 
ing this will be recounted the scenes of the Lincoln-Douglas 
debate on the campus of Knox in 1858. 

The fifth epoch deals with Galesburg in the war time per- 
iod from 1861 to 1864. The sixth epoch in the history of the 
college will picture in great detail the undergraduate life of 
the present day. 

Distribution of the various scenes and characters in the 
pageant has been made among resident graduates and former 
students, from the classes of 1885 to the present time. Under- 
graduates are also taking a part in the work and in all several 
hundred people will be engaged in the performance. 

Academic Processions 

An Academic procession will precede the Commencement 
exercises and also those of the Anniversary Celebration. 

Academic costume will be worn. 

Both processions will form on the college campus in front 
of the "Old Main" building, and will march directly to the 
Central Church by way of Broad street, led by the College 
band and the members of the graduating class. 

The graduating class will form on the walk leading from 
the Science Hall. 

The Alumni and Alumnse will form on the walk leading 
from Alumni Hall. 

The Faculty of Knox, the Trustees, and the Representa- 
tives of Colleges and Universities will form on the walk in 
front of the "Old Main" building. 

The Alumni Dinner 

The Alumni Dinner, which is in charge of a committee 
of the Alumni, will be held immediately after the Historical 
Pageant at 7 :00 p. m., in the Central Church. Tickets will 
be reserved only for those who return the enclosed card with 
remittance before June 6. The price of the banquet ticket will 
be $1.00. The procession leading to the banquet will form 
as follows : Official delegates and special guests, trustees and 



136 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

faculty of the college will form on the walk leading from 
"Old Main" to the gymnasium. The alumni, beginning with 
the older classes, will form on the walk leading from Alumni 
Hall to "Old Main." Husbands and wives of graduates may 
march with them. The members of the graduating class will 
form on the diagonal walk leading from Science Hall to "Old 
Main." All others holding banquet tickets will form on the 
walk leading from Standish Park to "Old Main." The pro- 
cession will form immediately at the close of the Historical 
Pageant. Only those with tickets will be permitted to enter 
the dining rooms. 

Reunions 

The hour planned for Class Reunions is 12 m., Tuesday, 
June 11. The following are the class secretaries who are ar- 
ranging reunions for their respective classes : 

Rev. N. L. Burton, '71 ; Mrs. Maud Tenney Brown, '72 ; 
Mrs. Ella Kreider Hanna, '73 ; Mrs. Carrie Dietrich Manny, 
'75, '76; Mrs. Hettie Linsley Thompson, '77; Mrs. Fred R. 
Jelliff, '78 ; Mr. O. J. Colton, '79 ; Mrs. Lillian Bassler Jelliff, 
'80, '81 ; Miss Cora Stone, '82, '83 ; Mrs. Delia Rice Mathenv, 
'84; Miss Jessie Holmes, '85; Dr. L. R. Ryan, '86; Mrs. Ber- 
tha Davis Taggert, '87 ; Rev. Stuart M. Campbell, '88 ; Mrs. 
Alice Stewart Wolf, '89; Mr. Henry F. Arnold, '90; Mrs. 
May Roberts King, '91 ; Miss Sadie Folger, '92 ; Mr. George 
Candee Gale, '93; Mrs. Elizabeth Freer Walker, '94; Mrs. 
Frances Arnold Woods, '95 ; Mrs. Lucy Babcock Rich, '96 ; 
Mrs. Mary Wertman Stearns, '97 ; Mr. Fred McFarland, '98 ; 
Miss Ora Wertman, '99 ; Mr. Albert S. Felt, '00 ; Mrs. Clara 
Forester Maley, '01; Miss Alice Willard, '02; Dr. Fred E. 
Ewing, '03 ; Mr. Roy L. Piatt, '04 ; Miss Alice Lowrie, '05 ; 
Mr. Henry W. Lass, '06 ; Miss Marie Seacord, '07 ; Mr. Roy 
E. Ingersoll, '08 ; Miss Letitia Rhodes, '09 ; Miss Delia Spin- 
ner, '10; W. Leslie Latimer, '11. 

All graduates are requested to notify the secretaries of 
their respective classes in case they expect to attend Com- 
mencement. All secretaries are residents of Galesburg. 

The members of Sigma Rho are planning a reunion at 
5 :30 p. m., Monday, June 10. Correspondence should be di- 
rected to Mr. Carl Dunsworth, Galesburg. 

A supper is being planned for all members of classes from 
1880 to 1887, inclusive, to be held in the college library on 
Wednesday, June 12. 

Full information and details regarding reunions planned 
should be sent to the Rev. Stuart M. Campbell, The Manse, 
Galesburg, 111. 



COMMITTEES OF ARRANGEMENT 



137 



Committees of Arrangement for the Seventy-fifth 
Anniversary 



General Arrangements — 
President Thomas McClelland 
Mr. George A. Lawrence 
Mr. E. R. Drake 
Mrs. Maud Tenney Brown 
Miss Grace A. Stayt 
Miss Jessie R. Holmes 
Professor W. F. Bentley 
Mr. George C. Gale 
Mr. Henry F. Arnold 
Mr. Fred O. McFarland 
Professor W. E. Simonds 
Mr. Kellogg D. McClelland 
Rev. Stuart M. Campbell 

Entertainment — 
Miss Mary Smith 
Mrs. Maud Tenney Brown 
Mr. C O. Lewis 
Miss Jessie R. Holmes 
Miss Grace A. Stayt 
Professor R. Janssen 
Professor W. P. Drew 

Decorations — 
Professor W. L. Raub 
Mrs. G. T. Sellew 
Mrs. A. C. Longden 
Mr. E. R. Drake 
Class of 1913 

Distribution of Tickets — 
Mr. Kellogg D. McClelland 
Professor A. C. Longden 
Mr. Carl M. Dunsworth 

Invitations and Programs — 
Professor H. V. Neal 
Mrs. Clark E. Carr 
Professor W. L. Raub 
Mr. Kellogg D. McClelland 

Reunions and- Chapel Service- 
Rev. Stuart M. Campbell 
Professor Thomas R. Willard 
Mrs. Alice Stewart Wolf 



Miss Jessie Holmes 
Dr. Fred Ewing 

Phocessions and Seating — 
Mr. Wilfred Arnold, Marshal 
Professor H. V. Neal 
Mr. G. F. Whitsett, 

College Marshal 

Alumni Dinner — 
Mr. Geo. C. Gale 
Mr. Henry F. Arnold 
Mrs. Hettie Linsley Thompson 
Mrs. Alice Stewart Wolf 
Miss Alida L. Finch 
Mr. J. B. Brown 

Speakers — 
President Thomas McClelland 
Mr. George C. Gale 
Professor W. F. Bentley 
Professor W. E. Simonds 

Music — 

Professor W. F. Bentley 
Professor J. W. Thompson 
Professor G. A. Stout 
Miss Blanche Boult 
Miss Lillian A. Elwood 

Academic Costume — 
Professor G. T. Sellew 
Dr. Stuart M. Campbell 
Professor W. F. Bentley 

Press and Publication — 
Mr. Kellogg D. McClelland 
Mr. Richard Jelliflf 
Mr. Vernon M. Welsh 

Historical Pageant — 
Professor W. E. Simonds 
Miss Jessie Holmes 
Mrs. Georgia Smith Gale 
Mrs. Bertha Davis Taggert 
Miss Mildred Tibbals 
Miss Grace Stayt 
Professor D. E. Watkins 



138 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Sunday, June 9. 

BACCALAUREATE SERMON 
PRESIDENT THOMAS McCLELLAND 

Text: Psalms 45:16. "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy chil- 
dren." 

These words are part of an ode in celebration of the nup- 
tials of some oriental monarch, possibly Solomon. They sug- 
gest the thought of the morning. In the first place they are 
indicative of the high regard in which the continuity of fam- 
ily relations was held by the Hebrew people. Genealogies of 
their leaders were carefully preserved and some of them have 
come down to us in the various books which, bound together, 
constitute our Bible. Not only was this continuity of natural 
relations preserved in their thought and life and referred to 
with constant pride, but it was used persistently and effectively 
in stimulating each successive generation to preserve the con- 
tinuity of that moral and religious life which was the dis 
tinguishing characteristic of the Hebrew race. This is strongly 
emphasized in the song from which the text is taken. ''Thine 
arrows are sharp in the hearts of the king's enemies whereby 
the people fall under thee. The scepter of thy kingdom is a 
right scepter ; thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness. 
Therefore, God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of 
gladness above thy fellows. Instead of thy fathers shall be 
thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. 
I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations. 
Therefore shall the people praise thee forever and ever." 
Lifted out of its oriental settings, stripped of all poetic im- 
agery, the text is full of suggestions for the practical and 
prosaic generation to which we belong. "Instead of thy fath- 
ers shall be thy children." As had the king before whom 
these words were sung, so have we received from our fathers 
a goodly heritage. As upon him, so upon us, it devolves, not 
only to conserve it, but to pass it on enlarged and improved 
to our children. The strength of family ties which has held 
among the Hebrews for ages, is an interesting fact, but more 



BACCALAUREATE SERMON 139 

important than this, as furnishing an example for us, is the 
fact that they preserved with religious fidelity the continuity 
of interests, of aims, and policies. Their history shows no 
mere fortuitous progress, but a development along well-marked 
lines. Each successive generation got, not only its forms of 
thought and expression, but its ideals and its motive force 
through a conscious and joyous connection with preceding 
generations. 

The occasion which calls us together this morning, as well 
as the text, suggests and compels a reference to the founders 
of this town and college. Seventy-five years ago on the fif- 
teenth of February last, the law makers of this common- 
wealth, in session at Vandalia, recognized the plan of the far- 
sighted colonists who planted the college, and authorized its 
consummation by chartering the institution which has de- 
veloped into Knox College as we know it to-day. It is not 
likely that the legislators whose votes gave it legal existence 
had any adequate conception of the meaning of their act. It 
is perhaps too much to say that even the colonists themselves, 
in whose minds the plan of college and town originated, un- 
derstood its full meaning and its future possibilities; but, as 
is so generally the case with the philanthropic undertakings 
of men whose vision includes not only present but future 
generations, they builded better than they knew. In the 
original document which formulated their purpose, statesman- 
like in its outlook on the future, Christian in the manner of 
its initiative, there was wrapped up the promise and potency 
of all that is best in city and college to-day; more than this, 
a promise of the greater realities which the future has in store, 
if we, the children, are true to the ideals of the fathers. 

It will be worth while from the vantage ground which the 
progress of intervening years gives to renew our strength, to 
reanimate ourselves by a reference to that which our own 
pioneers thought in their hearts to do for God and their coun- 
try. It was no narrow conception. It had in it the promise 
of vastly greater good than any single generation could real- 
ize. It embraced not only the individual, but the institutions 
of the state ; it included not only the nation, but the world — 



140 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

as a reference to the language of the original circular clearly 
shows : "Who that loves the souls of men can look on this 
field and not feel his heart affected, and not tax his energies 
to the utmost, as well as offer most fervent prayers to the 
Lord of the harvest, that he would furnish the laborers ? Who 
that loves the institutions of his country can look upon it 
without alarm when he reflects that in a few, a very few years, 
they will be in the hands of a population reared in this field; 
and reared, unless a mighty effort be made by evangelical 
Christians, under the forming hand of those who are no less 
the enemies of civil liberty than of a pure gospel? What is 
done to prevent this ruin must be done quickly. It is perfectly 
within the power of evangelical Christians in this country 
under God, to furnish, and that speedily, all the laborers 
wanted on this field, besides doing much towards supplying 
the world." 

As early as January 7, 1836, the date of the adoption of 
the original circular in Whitestown, New York, the various 
lines of activities which are to-day open to college men and 
women who wish to devote their lives more or less exclu- 
sively to pursuits which make for the good of humanity, were 
unknown, and so, in keeping with the common thought of 
the times, and the purposes which led to the founding of most 
of the earlier colleges in the East, as for instance, Harvard 
and Yale and Princeton, and Dartmouth and Williams, the 
primary object of the school which it was their thought to 
establish, was to train men for the gospel ministry; but even 
though this was the primary thought, it was by no means 
exclusive — as the opening words of the charter clearly show: 
"The object of said corporation shall be to promote the general 
interests of literature, and to qualify young men in the best 
manner for the various professional and business occupations 
of society, by carrying into effect a thorough system of men- 
tal, moral and physical education." Neither was this liberal 
provision confined to young men. In language which seems 
somewhat antiquated to-day, but which was quite advanced 
seventy-five years ago, they made it clear that their thought 
included the thorough and well-directed education of women. 



BACCALAUREATE SERMON 141 

This was realized in the Knox Female Seminary, which in the 
evolution of the years, has made Knox College a co-educa- 
tional institution. The exact language used is exceedingly 
interesting when we take into account the conditions of the 
times in which it was written: "It is beginning to be be- 
lieved, and not without good reason, that females are to act 
a much more important part in the conversion of the world 
than has been generally supposed; not as preachers of the 
gospel, but as help-meets of those who are, and as instructors 
and guides of the rising generations, not only in the nursery, 
but in the public school. It should therefore be an object of 
special aim with all who pray and labor for the conversion of 
the world, to provide for the thorough and well-directed 
education of females." This may be picturesque enough to 
start a smile in our day, but it suggests large-mindedness and 
progressive thought at a time little more than a generation 
removed from that period after the close of the Revolutionary 
War, when it could be said that many ladies of high standing 
in Boston, could not read, that wives of distinguished men 
signed deeds with a cross, that a girl instructed by a master 
was unheard of, and "to be permitted to hang on the door 
steps of country schools to hear the boys recite, was deemed 
a privilege." It was at the very time when Mary Lyon was 
scouring the Connecticut valley, soliciting money and produce 
from business men and farmers to furnish the means for 
laying the modest foundations of Mount Holyoke Female 
Seminary, which, as that splendid institution of higher learn- 
ing for women. Mount Holyoke College, will celebrate its 
75th Anniversary the coming fall. All honor to the men and 
women of vision, who seventy-five years ago, in prayer and 
high resolve, and with sublime sacrifice, laid the humble 
foundations on which have been reared the goodly educational 
structures which we see to-day, offering equal privileges to 
men and women. 

It is cause for gratitude that we have entered into the 
heritage which the Rev. George W. Gale and his associates 
have left to us, but underneath the feeling of thanksgiving 
which we gladly express during these anniversary days, may 



142 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

there be a deep sense of the obligation which that, we have 
received of the fathers, imposes. May we realize as children, 
that it is our privilege, as well as our duty, not only to pre- 
serve this heritage intact, but to pass it on enlarged and en- 
riched to the generations yet to come. The vision of the 
fathers looked far into the future ; theirs was a conception and 
plan which no single generation could realize. 

These colonists were not saints already redeemed from all 
the temptations that flesh is heir to. Some of them were no 
doubt shrewd, hard-headed business men. They doubtless 
expected, through the occupancy of these rich virgin prairies, 
that some rewards would accrue to themselves and their chil- 
dren. They were men of strong convictions and positive be- 
liefs, and, in defense of these, tradition tells us, they were 
ready betimes to engage in personal controversy, which occa- 
sionally amounted to battles royal. But these things were 
incidental. The one aim, the guiding and compelling motive 
which brought them to this place seventy-five years ago was 
the founding of the college. Moved by noble impulses which 
formed themselves into generous and far-reaching purposes, 
they devised the plan out of which grew Knox College and 
Galesburg. With unselfish devotion and sublime faith in 
Jehovah, they migrated from their eastern homes to this re- 
gion, then the very frontier of our country ; a distance meas- 
ured by the time it took to traverse it, as great as a journey 
around the world to-day. With them as with the pioneers 
of all progress throughout the ages, the thoughts of their 
hearts were greater than their ability to perform. The deep- 
est purposes of their minds, their most worthy ambitions, out- 
ran their achievements. So is it ever ; the highest ideals of one 
generation must wait upon succeeding generations for their 
realization. Thus the generations are linked together. The 
past is bound to the present. In this we find the continuity of 
history. Men think in their hearts larger thoughts than they 
realize in deeds. The man in any age who subjects himself 
to the higher motives of life enters into the mind of the In- 
finite. His life becomes a part of the eternal purposes which 
through the ages run. And so the words I have quoted from 



BACCALAUREATE SERMON 143 

this old song, "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children," 
have a significance for men in all generations. The pioneers, 
whose memories we honor to-day, realized in a comparatively 
small measure the promise of their own purposes and plans, 
but they prepared the way for their children, that without 
them, they should not be made perfect. It would be pleasing 
to dwell more fully on the retrospect and we might be par- 
doned if we should take further time to express the exultation 
of some here whose thoughts are naturally contrasting the 
early years of struggle and preparation with the realizations of 
to-day. The occasion, however, points to the future, and de- 
mands not so much an eulogy of the past, as a promise of 
that which is to come. We might naturally follow this thought 
to show that they, who with earnest desire and right purpose 
are doing life's work, may labor on with assurance that their 
plans and purposes will find fruition through those who fol- 
low after. 

For the present I desire rather to turn your thoughts to 
the responsibility which rests upon those to whom these un- 
fulfilled promises and incomplete labors have been transmitted. 
Men have a habit of making generous acknowledgment of 
their dependence on the past. Pulpit and press, orator and 
essayist, historian and painter, vie with each other, in mag- 
nifying the achievements of those who have gone before. We 
go back to the ancients for our best examples in literature 
in law, in religion. We find among them the masters in the 
art of painting, of sculpture, of architecture, and we cheer- 
fully take as our criterion of success the measure of our ap- 
proach to the models they have left us. But this morning my 
thought turns to the incompleteness of the past and to the 
responsibility of the present for the fulfillment of its unreal- 
ized promises. That is the meaning of the words of the singer 
to this the ancient monarch in the climax of his joy and 
triumph : "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children whom 
thou mayest make princes in all the earth.' The appeal was 
not for greater effort toward the enlargement and aggrandize- 
ment of his kingdom, but rather it was a call to the righteous 
life and that faith in Jehovah which characterized his fathers. 



144 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

The same thing is strikingly brought out in the eleventh chap- 
ter of Hebrews which has been fittingly called the faith 
pyramid. The writer emphasizes not the achievements of the 
heroes of ancient Israel whose names he has immortalized, but 
rather their fidelity to the unfilled promises and the unrealized 
ideals which they have transmitted to their children. This was 
faith, faith in the eternal God, faith in the future of the race, 
and it was counted to them for righteousness. They belonged 
to different generations ; they differed widely in modes of life 
in religious observances, in standards of morals and in con- 
duct, but they were one in faith and obedience. We may well 
put the stamp of our disapproval on many of their acts, never- 
theless, as has been well said: "Through their varied history 
of short-comings, of primitive faith and primitive morals, 
there was a constant preparation for the better things which 
should come after." "These all having obtained a good report 
through faith, received not the promise, God having provided 
some better things for us that they without us should not be 
made perfect." This is the law of progress throughout the 
ages. Beliefs perish, ideals remain. The temporary even in 
conduct disappears, the living faith endures. Through it God 
has prepared better things for those who come after. Apart 
from the children, the fathers who have been true to the vital 
things of life are not made perfect. It is the mission of the 
present to take care of the things of itself, but in so doing it 
conserves and perfects the past while at the same time it pro- 
vides unconsciously better things concerning the future. For- 
tunately the original settlers who came to find homes in this 
state, as in the newer states of the West generally, were in 
most cases no mere adventurers, seeking only the betterment 
of their temporal conditions. Happy for the future of the 
great middle West, which exerts such a potent influence upon 
the nation to-day and is sure to hold the balance of power in 
the future, they were men of prayer and faith, who, to the de- 
sire to make for themselves and their children, more comforta- 
ble and prosperous homes in these new lands, joined the well- 
defined and persistent purpose to plant the Christian institu- 
tions, church and school, which had been the glory of the 



BACCALAUREATE SERMON 145 

states farther east from which they migrated. The influence 
of these early foundations upon the great states of the West, 
can hardly be overestimated. As we value the efficiency of 
these institutions which the fathers planted, as we hope to do 
our part in fulfilling their thought and purpose, we must not 
depart from the ideals which they cherished. Most of all we 
must not forget that our strength, as did theirs, rests in God. 
Any tendency toward the adoption of narrower views or 
lower conceptions will find easy corrections, by a reference to 
the records of the past. 

The character of the first settlers in any community and 
the purposes which govern their lives somehow persist and 
give character to the community for generations to come. 
They perpetuate, nay more, they multiply themselves, and 
their influence is not confined to the limits of any single com- 
munity or any single state. At this time, we gladly pay 
homage to the wise forethought, the unselfish devotion, and 
the high aims of the men, who, in prayer and faith, estab- 
lished this college. 

But how shall the natural progression of the ideals which 
possessed the fathers be transmitted to the generations which 
are to come? What is the task that devolves upon us? Nat- 
urally we think first of the college. What kind of an institu- 
tion shall we make of it? How shall we best carry out the 
purpose which entered into its foundation? The primary 
thought was to provide an educated ministry who should in- 
struct the incoming settlers in the gospel doctrines of right- 
eousness and carry the same message into the remote parts 
of the earth. This idea was, as I have said, not peculiar to 
Knox College; it was the underlying thought in the planting 
of all the early institutions of higher learning in the New 
England and middle states. In fact, it gave us the American 
college, that distinctive institution of our educational system, 
whose aim is still to train men, not so much for any particular 
vocation, as for service to humanity, whatever may be their 
specific calling. Rejoicing as we do in our technical schools 
and in our system of great universities which have grown up 
in response to the needs of business, of the professions and 



146 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

of social conditions as they exist to-day, it remains true that 
there never was a greater demand than now for the kind of 
education which the college as such, stands for; that funda- 
mental training which develops the powers of the mind and 
which does not neglect the heart while training the intellect. 
In short, that institution which has as its aim the making of 
men first, — business men, professional men, and specialists of 
whatever order, afterwards. With the words of the new 
president of Princeton the American college is in full sym- 
pathy, "Make a man, and he will find his work." His in- 
augural address made it clear that Princeton under his leader- 
ship, "will not exist merely as a school of apprenticeship for 
definite occupations in life, but undertakes to transform a 
school boy into a cultivated and self-governed man." It is 
interesting to note that just at this time there is a distinct and 
growing demand for that kind of education which the college 
has furnished in the past, with such particular adjustments as 
changed conditions may require, but holding faithfully to that 
which has been its supreme aim in all the past. So general 
and pronounced has this demand become, and such has been 
the response that our magazines are beginning to talk of the 
Renaissance of the American college, and definite and far 
reaching plans are under consideration, looking toward a large 
development of this essential part of our educational system. 
This is the course which real educational progress is taking 
to-day. It does not under-rate the importance of those forms 
of education which especially fit men to be investigators in the 
realms of science, or of business, or of government, or of 
social interests and relations ; rather its aim is to furnish that 
fundamental training of intellect and heart so essential to 
leadership in every department of human investigations anil 
activities. Neither does it fail to recognize the fact that the 
great majority of our youth are, by circumstances over which 
they have no control, prohibited from entering the field of 
higher education at all. For them, that much abused and en- 
tirely overworked adjective, "vocational," has a distinct and 
most valuable significance ; and I take this opportunity, which 
the celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the found- 



i ^ 




BACCALAUREATE SERMON 147 

ing of Knox College and the city of Galesburg affords, to 
record the appreciation which the college has for the intelli- 
gent and consistent work our city schools are doing, in pro- 
viding an education suited to the needs of that large majority 
of their pupils, who must make their way in the world without 
the advantages of the liberal training, which the college seeks 
to give; while at the same time they are furnishing prepara- 
tory courses for those looking toward the college, who, al- 
though their numbers are comparatively small, are of unmeas- 
ured importance, because of their prospective influence on 
state and nation. I trust the close and helpful relations that 
have always existed between our city schools and this college 
may continue and become of greater and greater mutual ad- 
vantage as the years go on. 

Again, and more specifically, if the vision of the fathers 
is to find that fair share of its fulfillment which belongs to 
this generation, we must see to it that the college makes not 
only for the intellectual training of its students, but above all, 
that it shall send its graduates out with the right moral and 
religious attitude; thoroughly impressed with their obligation, 
as educated men and women, to the society of which they 
are to be an influential part. We owe it to these young men 
and women we are sending out year by year that the college on 
its intellectual side shall be kept fully abreast of the educa- 
tional progress of our day; but none the less do we owe it 
to them that the atmosphere in which they gain this side of 
their training, shall be charged with the spirit of those who 
planted this institution, which was none other than the spirit 
of Christ. In this is involved all that is meant when we talk 
of morals and religion. What is religion but the spirit which 
generates moral purposes and puts them into action? The 
fathers may have differed among themselves as to theological 
beliefs, and some of the views cherished by them all we may 
discard to-day, but the underlying spirit, the great funda- 
mental purposes which go toward determining character and 
which were the main springs of their actions, never change. 
All speculative and metaphysical thought aside. Rev. George 
W. Gale and his associates were animated by love of their 



148 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

fellow men ; and moved by a sense of their responsibility for 
the welfare of the multitudes, whom, with prophetic foresight, 
they saw inhabiting the fertile prairies of this fair state, they 
founded this college, dedicating it to the service of humanity 
and the glory of God. Possessed with the spirit of Christ 
which animated them, we must send our students into the 
world if we, their children, are to realize the aims and pur- 
poses of the founders whose memories we cherish and whose 
works we praise to-day. 

Members of the Graduating Class : 

You are to be congratulated that your Commencement Day 
is co-incident with the completion of seventy-five years in the 
life of your college. Because of this, yours will be a marked 
class. Its place in the history of the college will be easily 
found, and for this reason its record will be conspicuous. Let 
me assure you that we are sending you out with confidence 
that when you return to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniver- 
sary of your graduation, which will also be the one hun- 
dredth anniversary of the founding of the college, this class 
of 1912 will be able to give a good account of itself. 

While here you have acquitted yourselves well, and you 
have made valuable acquisitions in the various fields of knowl- 
edge covered by the curriculum. Our confidence that you 
will serve well your day and generation is based, as I said to 
you the other day, not so much on this fact, as upon what 
you are, — as upon the attitude and habits of mind you have 
acquired here. The value of your college course as an equip- 
ment for life is therefore measured, not so much by the 
quantity of truth which you have appropriated, as by what it 
has made of you, as by the relation it has established between 
you and all truth, and, let me add this morning, as by the 
spirit which may have taken possession of your lives. We 
hear much to-day of the selfishness and oppression of the gen- 
eration now active in the work of life, — the greed for money, 
the lust for political power, and the craze for social prestige 
have taken possession of us as a people to an alarming extent. 
The coming generation has much to do to overcome this, and 
the responsibility will rest heavily upon college-trained men 



BACCALAUREATE SERMON 149 

and women. In confronting this problem you will find that its 
dangerous aspect is not confined to the so-called lower or 
"submerged" classes. The menace of upper Fifth Avenue is 
in certain respects quite as bad as that of the lower Bowery. 
And what is true of the metropolis, is as true of other cities 
throughout the land. 

We have been discussing this morning the planting and 
development of Knox College. For you who are going into 
a new world, this history of sacrifice and achievement cover- 
ing three-fourths of a century, is of very special significance. 
From it you may learn that your triumphs will be gained, not 
by competition for personal ends, but by co-operation for the 
common good. The history of the founders and that of the 
college in its whole development, emphasizes this fact and 
enforces the still more fundamental lesson that, for eflFective 
service in your generation, as in every other, the spirit of the 
Master working in the lives of men is the essential of success- 
ful service. Only by a constant reference to this truth which 
lies at the foundation of all right living, will you reach the 
solution of the problems that confront you. Make it the 
starting point of all your plans and purposes and you may 
rest assured that in the issues of life, whatever the seeming 
may be, there will be no failure. 



150 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



Monday, June 10, 3 P. M. 

[The Class Day exercises were held on the campus in the rear 
of "Old Main." The class history was given a dramatic setting by 
Mr. Jesse A. Crafton and elaborately presented by the class of 1912. 
The program follows.] 

EGENETO IN ATHENAIS 

A Greek Comedy 

(Translated out of the Original Greek) 

A Tale of the School of Athens, B. C. 512 

HISTORICALLY CORRECT 

In Four Farts 

I. The Newcomers 

II. The Knowitalls 

III. The Dissipaters 

IV. The Wisdomites 

the time of the play is from 12-08 b. c. 

the scenes are laid in the school of ATHENS 



PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS 
BASILEUS, Ruler of the School. ASPENBUS, A Knowit All. 
GRIFFES, His Worthy Advisor. KALSOMINE, the Heroine. 



A HISTORY TEACHER. 

A PHILOSOPHY TEACHER. 

CARLOS, Epistoteus of the 

Wisdomites 
ASPARAGUS, the Hero. 
PEROXIDES, An Athlete. 
DEMENTES "^ 
DOGGONUS [-Students. 
PYRITES 

INTERPRET A TION 



PETROLIA ^ 
UNEEDA [students. 

BACTERIA I 
MARTHIA J 
ALUMNES, a Graduate of the 

School 
OLAFITUS. 
Students, Musicians, etc. 



Events Mentioned in Part I 
The School Buildings 
Life at Whiting Hall 
Rushing 

Endowment Campaign 
Freshman Dance 
Freshman-Sophomore Scrap 

Events Mentioned in Part II 
Work of Vacation 
Prof. Conger's History 
The Yellow Jacket 
The Glee Club Trip 
The Lombard Funeral 
The Sophomore Play 
The May Dances 



Events Mentioned in Part III 
Junior Prom. 
Olaf 

Student Literary Prize 
Prof. Raub's Philosophy 
Dancing in the Gym 
Burning of the Yellow Jackets 
The Engaged Couples 
Debating and Oratory Contests 

Events Mentioned in Part IV 
Election of Senior President 
Champion Athletic Teams 
Oratory and Debating Record 
Commencement Exercises 
7Sth Anniversary Celebration 



Note — A pause in the action indicates a lapse of time. 



COMMENCEMENT CONCERT 151 

Monday, June 10, 8 P. M. 

[The Commencement Concert by the graduating class of the 
Knox Conservatory of Music was given in Beecher Chapel with the 
following program:] 

knox conservatory of music 

Twenty-seventh Annual 

COMMENCEMENT CONCERT 

given by 

THE SENIOR CLASS 

beecher chapel 

Monday Evening, June Tenth 

Nineteen Hundred Twelve 

eight o'clock 

Program 

Concerto in E flat, Op. 70 Hermann Mohr 

Allegro — Scherzo 

Miss Gates and Orchestra 

Concert Polonaise Paderewski 

Mrs. Patterson 

One Fine Day (Madame Butterfly) Puccini 

Miss Bibbins 

March Fantastica, Op. 31, No. 3 Bargiel 

*Miss Helm 

Concerto in G, No. 7 DeBeriot 

Allegro Maestoso — Andante 

Miss MORLEY AND ORCHESTRA 

Ah ! Moon of my delight (The Persian Garden) Lisa Lehmann 

Mr, Newcomb 

Duo for two pianos — ^Valse Carnevalesque Chaminade 

Miss Epperson and Miss McClure 

Onaway Beloved (Wedding Feast) Coleridge-Taylor 

Mr. Soule 

Polonaise C minor Chopin 

Mr. Osborn 

Cantata — The Swan and the Skylark A. Goring Thomas 

Tenor solo and chorus — Summer! Summer! I depart; Farewell. 

Mr, Wilson 
Alto solo and chorus — Thus flowed the death chant on ; Farewell. 

Miss Crane 
Sopranos Tenors Alice May Carley 

Lilian Elwood Ralph W. Soule Gertrude E. Main 

Maude L. Nelson Qaude R. Newcomb Lucile Conner 

Lillian C. Anderson Orlo A. Eastman Basses 

Nellie M. Bibbins Fred W. Beard William J. Osborn 

Grace L. Epperson Altos Ralph B. Joy 

Vera W, McClure Alice C. Lowrie J. Russell Fox 

Leitha M. Swigert Herschell H. Halladay 

Concerto in A minor Grieg 

Allegro Moderato 

Winifred Shaver and Orchestra 
♦Excused on account of illness. 



152 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Tuesday, June 11, 8 :15 P. M. 

[The Senior Class Play was produced at the Auditorium with 
the following cast:] 

"THE MELTING POT" 

BY 

ISRAEL ZANGWILL 



Cast of Characters 

David Quixano, a Jewish Musician Jesse A. Crafton 

Mendel Quixano, His Uncle John R. Fox 

Frau Quixano, His Uncle's Mother Bessie Coat 

Kathleen O'Reilly, their household help Violette M. Briggs 

Quincy Davenport, Jr., an unemployed millionaire. .. .Chas. M. Burns 

Herr Pappelmeister, his orchestra conductor Carl M. Dunsworth 

Baron Revendal, a Russian official Orlo A. Eastman 

Baroness Revendal, his second wife Mildred Morris 

Vera Revendal, her step-daughter Winifred C. Ingersoll 

Synopsis 

Act I — Living room in the house of the Quixanos in the Borough 
of Bowling Green, New York. 

Act II — The same. March, afternoon. 

Act III — Miss Revendal's office at the Settlement. April, after- 
noon. 

Act IV — Roof garden of the Settlement. Evening of Saturday, 
the fourth of July. 

Furniture loaned by the O. T. Johnson Co. 



Manager Max Goodsill 

Stage Director Frederick W. Beard 

Electrician and Property Man i Glenn A. Barrer 

Conductor Professor Dwight E. Watkins 



ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 1S3 

Wednesday, June 13, 8 P. M. 

ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 
EDGAR A. BANCROFT, ESQ., CLASS OF 78. 

THE COLLEGE IN A COMMERCIAL AGE 
The Founders 

This day recalls the scene of seventy-five years ago : the 
wide rolling prairie carpeted with green, pranked with wild 
flowers, and fringed with woods. The actors were a band of 
colonists : clergymen, tradesmen, farmers and mechanics. 
They had built a small sawmill among the oaks, walnuts 
and maples of Henderson Grove, where, in thirteen impro- 
vised log cabins, one hundred and seventy-three of them had 
spent the previous winter. Now, with their own hands 
wielding axe and saw and hammer, they were building their 
homes and the new town of Galesburg. Here, on 10,746 
acres of land, for which the Founders paid $14,821, began a 
ready-made community and an endowed college. The plan 
was both simple and far-sighted. They believed that by 
giving three-fourths of the land they purchased to the col- 
lege, and around it building a town, with church, school and 
stores, the remaining one-fourth would be worth much more 
than the cost of all, and the increasing value of that gift to 
the college would sustain it. 

Their purpose was to establish the twin institutions of 
learning and religion in this fertile region in advance of its 
occupation ; so that the forces of enlightenment, rather than 
of sordid selfishness, should control. The undertaking was 
as practical in its plan and methods as it was ideal in its aim. 
Thus George W. Gale, clergyman, educator, and true state- 
builder, and sole author of The Plan, described this "Meso- 
potamia of the West" and the object of the Founders: 

"Encircled by navigable waters, almost embosomed by the 
great Mississippi, almost every inch of the soil arable . . . 
high and healthful . . . the whole earth does not contain a 
spot capable of sustaining a denser population. . . . And if 



154 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

there be a soil on the globe where the seeds of salvation ought 
to be sown with the first breaking of the turf, it is this."* 

Dr. Harvey Curtis, in his inaugural address as College 
President in June, 1858, — when this college, church and 
town had just reached their majority, — in the presence of 
more than half of the first colonists, thus expressed their 
intention : 

"It was a religious institution in its first conception. 
Religious men devised the plan, subscribed the money, led 
the way in the movement, endured the hardships of the first 
settlement ; and they designed that these institutions whose 
foundation-stones they were then laying, amid privation and 
toil, should be nurseries of sound learning, imbued with the 
spirit of fervent piety, regulated by a scriptural faith, un- 
folding itself in earnest, practical godliness." 

They were not visionaries, nor promoters of some new- 
found social or religious faith. They were pioneers, but 
they were not seeking escape from civil or religious oppres- 
sion. Though nearly all were Presbyterians, they were not 
sectarians. In their zeal there was no intolerance or bigotry. 
They were transplanting into virgin soil the matured tree 



♦"These families were homogeneous in their character, partaking 
of the spirit, as they sprung from the blood of the Pilgrim fathers. 
They loved the Bible, the Sabbath and the sanctuary. They . . . felt 
as their fathers felt the importance of transmitting the institutions of 
religion ... as the richest inheritance they could leave. 

"But their views were not restricted to benefiting their descend- 
ants. The object which gave birth to the enterprise was that of 
diffusing over an important region of country, at an early period of its 
settlement, the combined influences of education and reHgion. Like 
their ancestors they had both 'Pastors and Teachers.' No Sabbath 
was spent after the main body arrived without the public worship of 
God. ... 

"Thus situated and employed, this infant community were more 
than contented, — they were happy. . . . They were far from friends, 
from loved homes and cherished scenes of the tenderest associations 
. . . exchanging comfortable habitations in eastern villages for the 
straitened and rude accommodations of western log cabins. Some had 
lost children ; others had buried husbands and fathers, by disease con- 
tracted on the way; others were still suffering from like causes; but 
they never . . . repined against Providence nor regretted for a mo- 
ment that they had embarked in this enterprise. The hope of securing 
the blessings of education and religion to their posterity and to the 
region where they settled was more to them than the comforts they 
had left." 



ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 155 

whose fruits should be intelligent and honest citizenship. 
Industry, education and religion were to be the means and 
the result of their success. 

They had, of course, that resourcefulness, manly inde- 
pendence and dexterity which are the traits of pioneers : 

"They rise to mastery of wind and snow ; 

They go like soldiers grimly into strife 
To colonize the plain. They plow and sow, 

And fertilize the sod with their own life, 
As did the Indian and the buffalo." 

These lines do not bound the qualities of our colonists, 
nor touch the vital centre of their activities, — the motive of 
their epic endeavor. They chose this place with prudent, 
practical, worldly wisdom, but their dominant desire was to 
till yet fairer fields of mind and soul. 

Already, on February 15, 1837, Mr. Gale had secured, 
from the legislature, a charter for "Knox Manual Labor Col- 
lege," with these objects and powers: 

"To promote the general interests of literature, and to 
qualify young men in the best manner for the various pro- 
fessional and business occupations of society by carrying into 
effect a thorough system of mental, moral and physical educa- 
tion, and so reduce the expenses of such education, by manual 
labor and other means, as shall bring it within the reach of 
every young man of industry and promise."* 

Thus education was to be the birthright of ambitious in- 
dustry. 

Such, three-quarters of a century ago, was the founding 
of this college, this church and this city. And the simple 
shaft above the grave of the Founder fittingly bears this 
epitaph: "Si monumentum requiris circumspice" — if you 
seek his monument look about you. And so, with pride in 
the founders and in the distinctions Knox students have 



*"The said college . . . shall be open to all denominations of 
Christians, and the profession of any particular religious faith shall 
not be required of those who become students ; all persons, however, 
may be suspended or expelled from said institution whose habits are 
idle or vicious, or whose moral character is bad." 



156 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

won, we come to this Diamond Jubilee to crown our Alma 
Mater with gratitude, honor, praise and affection. 

Consider, for a moment, the conditions into which these 
colonizers projected themselves and their plan in 1837: In 
that year Illinois, with more acres of arable land than Eng- 
land, had less than 400,000 inhabitants, mainly in the south- 
ern portion and from slaveholding states. When Elijah P. 
Lovejoy printed abolition doctrines in his paper "The Alton 
Observer," the leading citizens of Alton threw his press into 
the river and killed him. There were then no railroads in 
the United States except short lines in New York, Pennsyl- 
vania and South Carolina. But the Illinois legislature of 
1837, under pressure from an "Internal Improvement Con- 
vention," was voting bonds for $10,000,000 — equal to $25 for 
every inhabitant; $8,000,000 to build at once 1,300 miles of 
railroad connecting the principal towns of the state — not in- 
cluding Chicago ; and $2,000,000 to complete the Illinois and 
Michigan Canal from Chicago to Peru. It also voted $200,- 
000 to the counties in which no public improvements were to 
be made. All energies were bent toward material develop- 
ment : the rapid conversion of the natural resources of soil, 
coal and timber into wealth. 

In that legislature, voting for this wild scheme of public 
improvements, which, in the panic of that year bankrupted 
the state for a time, and almost led to repudiation, were 
these men : Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, Ninian 
W. Edwards, John A. McClernand, James Shields, Edward 
D. Baker and James Semple, who, variously, became Judges 
of the Supreme Court, Governors of the State, Represent- 
atives and Senators in Congress, high officers in the Civil 
War, candidates for the presidency and President of the 
United States.* 



* Abraham Lincoln, in that year admitted to the Bar of Illinois, 
afterward elected to Congress, and twice elected President of the 
United States; Stephen A. Douglas, afterward member of the Illinois 
Supreme Court, thrice elected to Congress, United States Senator for 
two terms, and Democratic candidate for President; Ninian IV. Ed- 
wards, afterward Governor of the State ; John A. McClernand, after- 
ward four times elected to Congress and a General in the Civil War; 



ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 157 

Governor Ford, in his history, caustically referred to 
them as "spared monuments of popular wrath, evincing how 
safe it is to be a politician, but how disastrous it may be to 
the country to keep along with the present fervor of the 
people." 

In such a place and time the Founders set their college, 
devoted to sound learning and religion, and opposed to 
slavery and intemperance. 

The college charter clearly indicated the educational ob- 
ject of the Founders. A better statement of the true pur- 
pose of education cannot be made to-day. Although they 
sought practical training, and money was exceeding scarce 
during the first twenty years, they adopted, unchanged, the 
eastern college curriculum. The classics were given the 
first place, and mathematics the second ; of the sciences there 
was little more than the rudiments. And all led up to the 
crowning studies of college life — mental and moral philos- 
ophy. Along with these, as a daily influence, went work in 
writing and speaking English, and morning prayers, and 
chapel talks inculcating a generous purpose to serve society 
and win success by superior usefulness. Manual labor was 
to supply the resources for the mental and moral develop- 
ment of a sturdy manhood.* It was healthy mind-building 
and character-building, which would be the best preparation 
for every vocation. That was the philosophy of education 



James Shields, afterward Judge of the Supreme Court, Commissioner 
of the General Land Office, General in the Mexican War, Governor 
of Oregon Territory, and Senator from Illinois ; Edward D. Baker, 
afterward twice elected to Congress, Colonel in the Mexican War, 
Illinois' most eloquent orator, United States Senator from Oregon, 
Colonel in the Civil War, falling at Ball's Bluff in 1861 ; James Semple, 
then Speaker, afterward Judge of the Supreme Court, and United 
States Senator; Augustus C. French, afterward Governor; Stephen T. 
Logan, then partner of E. D. Baker and afterward of Lincoln, four 
times member of the Legislature, and member of the Constitutional 
Convention of 1848. 

*"Manual Labor" was dropped from the College name in 1857. 
As a required course, manual labor was never popular. Our faculty 
soon made the discovery which Tom Sawyer later immortalized : — that 
what you have to do, or are paid for doing, is work; but it becomes 
recreation if you have to pay for the chance to do it. This is the 
difference between Knox manual labor and Knox athletics. 



158 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

as thought out by these frontier educators. It was at once 
ideal and utilitarian : it was inspiring, helpful, invigorating, 
Christian. More than this, the college was an unselfish 
democracy, in which the improvement of every individual 
and the highest prosperity of the whole region was the great 
purpose. 

During its first half century, the influence of the college 
was supreme in all educational and in most intellectual mat- 
ters ; and it dominated and refined the life of the community. 
All of the social life that was really sociable and improving 
centered about the college, where it was the fondest hope of 
every family with ambition to send at least one son or 
daughter. The churches, the public schools and the city 
have ever been in close sympathy with it. 

The Founders knew that communities, like men, are 
shaped to higher or lower uses, as their early training and 
associations determine; and that the abiding joys and satis- 
factions must be found above the plane of the material and 
the animal. They sought to sweeten their own lives and 
those of others with goodness, and to uplift and preserve the 
life of the community with institutions of intellectual and 
moral enlightenment. Here was, indeed, a close approach to 
a real Utopia, for nearly all the best things of life were 
brought into harmony. They knew the value of aspiration, 
and believed the saying of Solomon : 

"Where there is no vision the people perish ; but he that 
keepeth the law, happy is he." 

Emerson's familiar lines, slightly changed, apply to 
them: 

"They builded better than they knew ; 
Their simple plan to beauty grew. 
They wrought in deep sincerity ; 
Themselves from God they would not free." 

Educational Changes of a Scientific-Commercial Age 

During the seventy-five years since this college was 
founded, the material and social changes have been so vast 
and marvelous that no words or figures can express them. 




ADVANCED CHEMICAL LABORATORY 




ELEMENTARY BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY 

Chemical and Biological Laboratories in the George Davis Science Hall. 



ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 1S9 

Pardon me for reminding you of a few suggestive facts, — for 
some one has said statistics are like the fabled toads which 
bore jewels in their heads; the ordinary user throws away 
the jewels and carefully preserves the toads! 

In the matter of population, Galesburg has increased 
from 232 souls to nearly 25,000; Chicago from less than 
4,000 to more than 2,000,000 ; Illinois from less than 400,000 
to nearly 6,000,000; and the United States from 15,000,000 to 
95,000,000. 

In wealth the change is still more astounding: The to- 
tal value of all property in Illinois has increased from about 
$55,000,000 to nearly $10,000,000,000, and in the United 
States from less than $5,000,000,000 to about $115,000,000,- 
000. The increase per capita in Illinois is from $138 to 
$1,667, and in the United States, from $333 to $1,210. 

In railroad transportation, aside from trolleys and tram- 
ways, the mileage of the world has increased from a few 
hundred in 1837 to nearly 650,000, of which two-fifths are in 
the United States and 13,000 miles in Illinois. 

Within these wonder-working years have come the tele- 
graph, the ocean cable, nearly every kind of steam naviga- 
tion, kerosene and gas, as well as electric light, the myriad 
products of coal oil, the countless uses of electricity, the 
telephone, the phonograph, the wireless telegraph, and last- 
ly and most marvelous of all, the aeroplane. Moreover, 
there are those higher and greater contributions to the race : 
the discovery of ether, of the germ theory of disease, and the 
various methods of prevention and cure ; that epoch-making 
hypothesis of Darwin; the great advances in surgery and 
medicine, and in the field of public sanitation. They have 
made the physical world, its processes and laws, intelligible 
and vocal to man, and serviceable to his needs; they have 
quickened perception, and made the whole field of natural 
phenomena a fascinating study. 

And beyond the contributions of the sciences are the in- 
estimable gifts of Art and Literature : the immortal sculp- 
tures, paintings, poems, songs, symphonies, plays, essays 
and biographies, — which throb and glow with the emotions 



160 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

of life ; creations that have within them not merely an in- 
forming value, but well-springs of unfailing pleasure. Appre- 
ciation stops with the melody, unless to the contributions of 
science are added the treasures of literature, and of those 
studies which are styled the Humanities, because of their 
humanizing influence. In them alone are found those deeper 
and subtler harmonies that are at once a sublime inspiration 
and gentle solace, and the seeds of hope and courage. They 
give to the truths of science that further charm which liter- 
ary association adds to natural beauty. 

Under the influence of the scientific and consequent so- 
cial development, the American scheme of college education 
has radically changed : the classics have been dethroned, and 
the sciences and modern languages have taken the dominant 
place ; the cultural and training elements have yielded not a 
little to the specializing and vocational end. The old educa- 
tional methods and ideals have changed to meet the modern 
demand for a college training that will most certainly and 
rapidly bring financial returns. The main object no longer 
is to develop the mind and enrich it with knowledge of the 
world's classic literature ; but to make the graduate resemble 
"a man of the world" or "a man of affairs." To this end was 
the elective system. Under it the pupils, not the masters of 
education, selected the courses to be taken. After a genera- 
tion of experiment in the new methods it is acknowledged 
that their object has not been secured : that indolence oftener 
than ambition controlled the choice of courses and studies. 
What was designed to help students work and think became 
a means of escape from both. 

There is a sign on an old building in Washington which 
unwittingly suggests an important truth in education and in 
life : 

"Horseshoeing done here by a horseshoer." 

The study of the classics reveals the wonders and utilities 
of the English tongue. Language is the one universal uten- 
sil in constant use ; and skill nowhere counts for more. The 
prevalence of slang among students, whose first duty is to 



ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 161 

master the subtleties of their mother tongue, betokens men- 
tal torpor, or vague and feeble powers of expression. 

The essence of all education is discipline of mind and 
character. The leadership which the classics held for so 
many generations — and which they still hold in the English 
colleges, was not accidental. No other study in a college 
course requires so many years of continuous and increasing- 
ly interesting work. No other language is so perfect as 
Greek, and none, save English, is so affluent. The modern 
languages are not taught in the same way, or with the same 
purpose or persistence. 

But in another respect the humanities, better than the 
sciences, train the mind for life's problems. In mathematics 
and pure science the student is dealing with certainties, with 
problems that admit of but one solution, of reasoning that 
can have but one conclusion, and with mathematical proofs. 
Whereas, in life one deals with possibilities and probabilities 
and moral evidences, and can derive from them, at the best, 
only moral certainties. The practical problems of life re- 
quire therefore a broader and more sensitive comprehension 
and judgment. 

But beside the mental discipline is the literature — the 
civilizations of the Attic age and the Roman Empire which 
classic study reveals. The sciences train the mind, but when 
they are forgotten — and they are as easily forgotten as the 
classics, — only the training remains : — none of the color and 
perfume and literary flavor and intellectual glow and remem- 
bered music, which the classics leave behind. 

The modern scientific and commercial spirits unite to 
decry the study of the classics. They approve Herbert 
Spencer's saying that Greek reveals the history of a bygone 
people, vastly inferior to ourselves, and having little of real 
value for the modern man. Many other successful business 
men approve the late R. T. Crane's insistence upon the use- 
lessness of higher education. As a preparation for business 
alone, they are largely right ; for the ideals and standards of 
success which the college teaches, or should teach, differ 
widely from those of the mere money-making career. Nev- 



162 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

ertheless college training should not disqualify, but rather 
aid, the highest business success. Its aim, however, is an 
all-round culture and training which shall be the best basis 
for future specializing. The modern methods, in increasing 
the number of studies taught, with a wide freedom in selec- 
tion, have lessened thoroughness both in their teaching and 
in their study. The outside interests of students have been 
largely increased. Participation in these, doubles college ex- 
penses and substitutes social for intellectual pleasures, and 
prevents that intense interest in stimulating mental occupa- 
tions. 

Why is it that the college-bred youth can rarely write 
clean English and master simple practical problems, and 
that the youth without the college education often outstrips 
him? Why is it almost exceptional for the best writers in 
newspapers, magazines and reviews, and even among our 
men of letters, to be college men?* 

Which college or technical school helped to make Watt, 
or Franklin, or Fulton, or Stephenson, or Morse, or Edison, 
or Marconi, or Wright? None! their teachers and schools 
were Self-help and Intense Purpose, which made them in- 
dustrious, ambitious, independent, confident, successful. 
Could any of them have survived uninjured the influences of 
our most popular colleges? These tend more and more to 
showy affectations and vapid activities. Our aims and re- 
cent beliefs to the contrary notwithstanding, it is a fact that 
the tendency of much present-day education is to scatter the 
mental energy, confuse the ambition, and thereby lessen in- 
dustry and weaken purpose. In the early days, poverty and 
self-dependence, and the absence of wealth and distractions, 
kept college life vigorously intellectual and resolute. The 
very rigors of life made the students hardy and determined. 

For a century the really intellectual leaders of France in 
letters, in the arts and sciences, — every savant, every man of 



*"The fact is that neither in our colleges nor in our high schools 
do we insist upon habits of thorough and exact mastery of intellectual 
tasks as does the German Gymnasium or the English High School." 

— The New York Nation. 



ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 163 

distinguished mind, with only here and there an exception, 
has "come up out of the soil," is the son of a peasant, of some 
petty mechanic or tradesman, or of similar humble origin. 
"But were they not graduates of the colleges and univers- 
ities?" you may rightly ask. Yes, — but in France the col- 
leges and universities and professors and students have con- 
tinued to be poor, except in intellectual opportunities. Their 
discipline is intense, logical, inspiring and expanding, not 
scattering. Academic and social life, as we understand the 
latter, are wholly distinct. In no country have riches and 
inherited rank been so weakening and hampering; in none 
have humble origin and meager resources, coupled with in- 
dustry, thrift and intellectual ambition, found success so 
surely attainable. No matter what you may think of Paris, 
wealth and social vanities have had almost no influence on 
education in France. 

In the United States our obstacles and difficulties make 
one hundred truly successful men where what we usually 
call special advantages make one. The wealth of our com- 
mercial age has come so suddenly that our eager effort to 
use it has often resulted in misuse and a semi-intoxication. 
This is doubtless the basis of the witticism of a prominent 
educator and keen critic: "When we survey the damage 
done by education, we are constrained to favor compulsory 
illiteracy." 

That education is best that most develops the individ- 
ual's capabilities, that teaches and inspires him to make the 
most of himself. School and college should be the furnace 
and forge to make iron into tempered steel. To teach the 
student to make the electric mental current start and flow — 
to charge and recharge youthful minds and give them a 
sense of creative energy stirring in the brain and quickening 
the pulses of the blood and compelling action, — that is the 
problem of education. 

In England the old classical curriculum has continued 
unchanged and unchallenged. The solidly trained English 
college men still play commanding parts, not only in the lit- 
erary and political life of England, but equally in maintain- 



164 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

ing and extending her commercial power and in the com- 
plicated imperial responsibilities in India, Egypt, Australia 
and Canada. 

The value of the college man depends not upon the things 
he knows, but upon his mind, his character, his ambition 
and ideals, — upon his ability quickly and accurately to 
learn new things. Learning is the food of the mind ; but it 
is not what the mind retains, but what it assimilates, that 
strengthens it. The college should start the mental and 
moral growth, which should continue through life from the 
inward impulse ; — the essential thing is to have the devel- 
opment continue. The experiences of life will store and en- 
rich a well-trained mind. Longfellow in his old age ex- 
plained his continued literary production by the old pear 
tree in his door-yard, — which bore fine fruit because it made 
new bark — showed a new ring of growth — each year. 

Every item in the college course, its purpose, its spirit, 
should be manworthy ; should so set the plastic elements of 
will and aspiration, and purpose, that they will not yield or 
change in the tests of social and business contact. The 
theory of making college education immediately practical is 
based on a false premise. The college cannot and should 
not try to fit a man for any calling; but should fit him to 
prepare for any vocation. Education may come from wide 
reading alone ; but for most youths there is needed the per- 
sonal contact and direction of the strong, trained character 
and mind of the teacher. But the essential thing is mental 
unfolding and growth, however produced. The point to the 
familiar saying, "Beware of the man of few books," is that 
he has absorbed a few real books — their essential power — 
into his mental fiber and intellectual life. 

Lincoln is an illustration and demonstration of this 
truth. With almost the fewest possible advantages, he de- 
veloped a self-disciplined mind, and a character of singular 
moral intensity and purity. He taught himself to think 
cogently and to speak the result precisely and fearlessly. 
He thus became the master of articulated reasoning, and of 
an unerring moral sense. These two qualities flowered in 



HH y-^ 



5 r 
> 





A VIEW ON THE REAR CAMPUS 




WHITING HALL 

The Knnx Conservatory occupies the east wing. 



ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 165 

the exquisite beauty of his Gettysburg address and his sec- 
ond inaugural, and they bore fruitage in the imperishable 
service he rendered to his country and to mankind. His 
success was not that of a genius, which, while it inspired 
wonder and admiration, discourages the average man. 

If culture is the art of doing easily what one does not 
like to do, is it not worth while in the earlier years of edu- 
cation to give serious attention to that art? The object and 
the fulfillment of life is living; to be all that one may be 
and to be that through doing worthy things well. 

College Education in a Commercial Age 

Wealth, no matter how great, commercial enterprise and 
success, no matter how vast and stupendous, are dangerous 
to the individual and to the state only so far as they affect 
moral standards or confuse the popular sense of values. 
But the fact is that great wealth is ambitious to make com- 
mercial credit and commercial standards supreme, to meas- 
ure men by what they have, rather than by what they are. 
Wealth often masters its possessor, and insidiously leads to 
weakening luxuries, to the glorification of material things, 
and supplants refreshing pleasures with wasting distrac- 
tions, or dissipations. Wealth and luxury present greater 
obstacles to individual development than do poverty or pri- 
vations, for they present the obstacles without the challenge 
or the need to surmount it. A Greek philosopher crowned 
himself with pine before his youths, and said : 

"Greater than the men of Leonidas or Themistocles, 
greater than the victors of the Olympic games, am I ; for I 
have overcome wealth, and luxury, and ease." 

When the triumph of forty centuries of ship-building and 
the latest expression of luxurious furnishings and cuisine, — 
with swimming pool, palm garden and orchestra, — sent six- 
teen hundred passengers to sudden death in the icy sea, the 
world stood aghast to learn that millions had been spent for 
luxury and speed, but only hundreds for the protection of 
life. The enrichment and ennoblement of life were wholly 
forgotten. "Luxury," said David Swing, "is the displace- 



166 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

ment of life: it marks where life has been, — or might have 
been." 

Low standards are no worse with wealth than with pov- 
erty. The test of the man is not his ability to become rich, 
but his use of his riches. This is so difficult because wealth 
charms and bewilders ; it stimulates every natural appetite 
and weakness — vanity, pride, conceit, love of display, reck- 
lessness and notoriety. The mere possession of wealth im- 
plies absolutely nothing as to the greatness of the possessor. 
That depends upon how the wealth was obtained, and yet 
more on how it is used. For the man of great wealth may 
be like a puny prince, crushed by the armor and sword which 
a valorous ancestor won and skillfully wielded. 

It was wisdom born of wide experience that led the 
greatest ironmaster of the world to write, "To die rich is to 
die disgraced." In the splendid house of a wealthy packer 
in New York hangs a costly painting of a bull's head. When 
asked why he had such a picture, he answered, with admir- 
able humility, "I wish to be reminded that after all we are 
only butchers." 

The college should develop and make strong the higher 
and worthier impulses and purposes of life so that the char- 
acter of the college man, — in an environment of luxury or 
commercialism, or commercialized politics, — shall not be, 
"like the dyer's hand," "subdued to what it works in." 

College men should have and easily maintain intellect- 
ual ideals of life almost independent of material possessions. 
No scholar, no scientist, no man of letters, has ever said 
that to die learned, or wise, or loaded with the accumulated 
honors of an intellectual life, is to die disgraced. 

On the other hand, the struggle for wealth, if arduous 
and honest, may be an excellent education, a real refining of 
character, a development of moral forces. When Carnegie 
builds libraries everywhere throughout the English-speak- 
ing world, they are monuments not to wealth's patronage of 
letters but of wealth's willing and deserved tribute, and ac- 
knowledged fealty, to the sovereignty of learning. 

Wealth can poison the academic fountain if luxury or 



ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 167 

financial power touch never so lightly those higher and in- 
dispensable standards of the intellectual life ; when trustees 
or faculties permit endowments and foundations to fetter 
instead of free them, or admit, even to themselves, that this 
tribute of wealth to education creates an obligation, rather 
than satisfies one. The perfect giver comes like the three 
merchants from the East and lays his gift at the feet of Im- 
mortal Truth, cradled in the manger. 

The highest and most lasting use of the college is to in- 
culcate these essential distinctions, and to create men strong 
and fearless, perpetually active to preserve and disseminate 
a precise sense of real values ; men who are neither the 
courtiers of wealth, nor flout its power with scorn or resent- 
ment or even unfriendliness. When Pericles invited 
Diogenes to view a rich rug of recent purchase, the phil- 
osopher trampled upon it with muddy feet, saying "Thus 
I trample on the pride of Pericles !" And Pericles answered, 
"Yes, Diogenes, with a greater pride." 

How shall the value and worth of financial and political 
achievement be kept in its true relation with other worthy 
objects of ambition? How shall political life be given prob- 
lems of greater intellectual interest and wider human con- 
cern than tariff, currency, and the expansion of trade? How 
shall government so perform its duty as to retard instead of 
advance those inequalities of opportunity among our cit- 
izens which imperil the success of democracy? How shall 
moral and intellectual and patriotic and unselfish ideals 
dominate rather than be dominated by the commercial 
spirit? The college man, if true to his ideals, should devise 
the means and be an agency for the solution of these press- 
ing problems. To the scholar honesty is not a policy, nor 
yet a wisdom, but is a condition of higher and wider intelli- 
gence. The first concern, therefore, of a college like this is 
to be sure that present methods of education are preserving 
the type of scholarship for which it was founded. To know 
that in adapting our college courses to existing conditions, 
there is no surrender of the fundamentals of scholarship; 



168 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

no sacrifice of true manhood in order to make men more 
skillful accumulators of wealth. 

There is a deep truth in Herbert Spencer's gloomy view 
of us : 

"Everywhere I have contended and I contend still that 
feelings, not ideas, determine social results ; that everything 

depends not upon intellect but upon character, 

I have only one message — be honest; regard the equitable 
claims of others while maintaining your own. ... A 
false trait in your society is the admiration of smart men. A 
people among whom there is admiration for smart men will 
come to grief." 

Aristotle said, "The inhabitants of the fortunate isles 
unless their virtue keep pace with their external prosperity 
become the most miserable of all mankind." Although the 
scholar is an aristocrat in the true sense, he does not recog- 
nize conventional distinctions of occupation or mode of life 
which do not affect personal worth. 

What the College Man Should Be to a Commercial Age 

The college man, whether he wins or inherits wealth, 
should increase its value by changing and directing its in- 
fluence. Mere wealth may be ennobling if devoted to the 
service of humanity. The commercial spirit and its achieve- 
ments he does not discredit, but rather directs them to 
higher uses. The final test of conduct in every field of en- 
deavor is the ethical test. Until recent years it has been lit- 
tle applied to the standards of trade, and is still almost neg- 
ligible in the rules of war. It should be the purpose of col- 
leges greatly to improve both. 

The severest count in the indictment of wealth is the 
character of its influence upon our political life. The su- 
perior rewards of business have withdrawn from activity in 
politics young men who would otherwise seek a public ca- 
reer, and the State is denied their needed service. Aggra- 
vating this loss is the indirect participation in politics of 
business and business men for business reasons. A half 
century of protection and of an uncertain and changing 



ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 169 

monetary system have compelled their attention to national 
legislation, but, unfortunately, few have left business 
for political life in order to promote a scientific treatment of 
these problems. That is the pressing political need of to- 
day: intellectual training and learning, coupled with busi- 
ness experience and sagacity devoted to the public service. 

Only when our public life gets its full share of the honest 
intelligence of scholarship and business, when it adopts the 
highest standards of efficiency and ethics, will either parties 
or politicians have the courage which goes with intellectual 
and moral strength and independence. 

The college man should have the superior mind: not so 
much in learning, as in thinking power, in judgment, in in- 
tellectual keenness, and courage to confront all social and 
political ills. His fidelity, his integrity of character, his 
trustworthiness, and his moral courage should be absolute. 
The college man should be superior in having his best qual- 
ities most highly developed. His character and knowledge 
and intelligence should give him an accurate philosophy of 
life and action and leadership. And although superior, he 
should be the guardian of true democracy ; he should show 
servility neither to wealth nor to temporary public opinion ; 
he should not "lose the common touch," but rather be the 
inspirer of hope everywhere, and recognize and aid all the 
aspiring. The colleges are to-day permitting, if not en- 
couraging, undemocratic and snobbish distinctions. College 
men too often assume a superiority by viritue of their de- 
gree which is not otherwise established. 

Wealth and luxury stifle ambition and discredit work. 
It is yearly becoming more evident that noble, wholesome 
and vigorous aims have almost been supplanted. But this 
was familiar wisdom in Plutarch's time, for he wrote that 
among the Epicureans there had not been a single great 
man, nor had they among them produced one great action. 
Instead of a modest and resourceful culture, we tend toward 
ostentatious conceits and affectations, which, like all pre- 
tense, undermine character. The main features of college 
life have been thus altered for the worse. 



170 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

The fault is not with the student of to-day. He is the 
unconscious victim of social changes which have affected 
trustees and faculty and all of us, nearly as much as him- 
self. The notion of social position and influence has sup- 
planted manly ambition for independence and moral in- 
fluence. 

This is a time of critical uncertainty as to the future. A 
spirit of unrest, distrust and division permeates the indus- 
trial and political forces, not only of America, but of the 
world, — a spirit which seems to say : Whatever is, is 
wrong. The time needs the help of disciplined, informed, 
courageous, sympathetic and patient men. Despite the real 
dangers of the situation, there may be compensation in that 
it compels serious, independent thinking. It hales estab- 
lished principles, rules and customs to the bar of public 
judgment. They must once more prove their right to gen- 
eral acceptance. Our national permanence depends upon 
our being a constitutional democracy, yet not an inflexible 
and unchangeable democracy. We are, and always will be, 
in a state of mobility, within established bounds of freedom, 
regulated by law. But those bounds and that law are sub- 
ject to change. We cannot rest secure in rigid laws and 
constitutions. We cannot bind public opinion or the popu- 
lar will against all serious blunders. Our safety ultimately 
lies alone in the intelligence and sense of justice of our peo- 
ple. Their opinion and conscience should be informed, ap- 
pealed to, and helped; their will should be guided, not re- 
sisted, scorned, or shackled. But to promote popular in- 
telligence and justice, we must develop and cherish both in 
ourselves. We must "believe in the succor which the heart 
yields to the intellect, and draw greatness from its inspira- 
tions." 

And this changing democracy must be a real and self- 
preserving equality, not merely in the letter of the laws and 
rules of the courts, but also in actual administration. Noth- 
ing so rapidly and inevitably disturbs that equality as the 
growing disparity in the economic conditions of the people. 
The laws and the courts come to be appealed to by both 



ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 171 

parties in that ever increasing contest between the forces 
which are called capital and labor. But how vain is the ap- 
peal, how difficult is the performance of duty by legislature 
and by court when each party with powers so real and so 
persistent is seeking an unfair advantage over the other. 
And so we come to the same old conclusion that as all civili- 
zation and all ages have needed, so this age needs, true men 
whose ambition it is to serve their country in a whole- 
hearted devotion to "the dearest interests of mankind." 
This man of brains and character — of moral efficiency, — is 
the mainstay of society. Other qualities and capacities have 
their day, — "they have their day and cease to be." 

Our Robert Mather was of the highest type. As he said 
in his brilliant anniversary address five years ago, Knox 
College opened to him the door of opportunity. More than 
this : it inspired him to make the most of that opportunity. 
While he worked at lathe and bench in the railroad shops, 
or saved the small earnings of an insurance office clerk, he 
had the vision of a larger world. He girded himself for a 
college education; and then, having attained it, with a 
strong will, trained mind and sterling integrity, he entered 
the lists for the world's honors; and he achieved them in 
ample measure. He rose by his own clear brain, strong will, 
industry and character to leadership : first in the legal pro- 
fession, then in railroad organization and finance, and finally 
in the financial life of New York. Yet the spirit of a com- 
mercial age never dominated him ; never touched his moral 
standards or controlled his opinions. In all public and pri- 
vate afifairs his voice and influence were on the side of hon- 
est men and for civic betterment. He believed, and his ex- 
perience proved, that the old-fashioned college training in 
the classical course was not only a good preparation for an 
intellectual life, but also for meeting and overcoming the 
obstacles of a most practical life.* 



*The Board of Directors of the Westinghouse Electric & Manu- 
facturing Company, by resolution, said : 

"He was a self-made man in the best sense of the word ; and his 



172 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Knox College should restore and serenely maintain the 
classical curriculum, and enrich it by thorough courses in 
ancient and modern history. There can be no sound ob- 
jection to increasing and modernizing courses in the 
sciences. Personally I think it is a mistake to make Greek 
elective; but, if this be done, compensation should be sought 
by making the study of Latin literature and Roman life 
thorough and lastingly interesting and practical. I see no 
objection to granting the degree of B. S., but this should 
also require a fair knowledge of Latin or Greek and the full 
course in English literature. 

Our Faculty should be increasingly composed of real 
teachers, — thorough, alert and inspiring. They must cherish 
true standards of education and of life and courageously in- 
culcate them. Our pride should be, not in numbers and en- 
dowments, and buildings and athletic victories, but in the 
rivalries of mental activity and in literary accomplishments. 
Whatever tends to make college life less than intellectual 
and of a serious purpose is its great enemy, and we must 
all at all times oppose it. 

The changes of the last seventy-five years have not al- 
tered the standards of intellectual power, of virtue and 
honor, or the canons of literature and art, or the principles 
of government. Now, as then, the man who is to play a 
leading part needs, first of all and always, the control of his 
own faculties, the power to rally them to his aid on the in- 
stant, and to unite them upon the task in hand. These 
words of President Eliot should never be forgotten: "A 
keen and sure sense of honor is the finest result of college 
life." We must still place the emphasis on character. 

"The flame of oil . . . casts a shadow in the path of 
the electric light. So does intellect when brought into the 



business career is a notable example of what untiring industry, courage 
and native ability can accomplish. 

"During his chairmanship of this Company ... he won the com- 
plete confidence of the officers and directors in his ability and integrity, 
and their unbounded admiration for his unfailing courtesy, his high, 
manly character, and his great administrative abiHty, all so con- 
stantly manifested under most trying conditions." 




THE LIBRARY 




THE RECEPTION ROOM 
In Whiting Hall 



ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI 173 

presence of character; character puts out that light." And 
morality is a superior intelligence, as altruism is but the 
highest order of self-development. "When the gods come, 
the half-gods go." 

The wisdom and foresight and religious patriotism of 
the Founders have been demonstrated through the years. 
But Illinois and this great valley need to-day the active in- 
fluence of intelligence, character, and a militant morality, 
more than they were needed seventy-five years ago. Our 
State stands to-day disgraced and humiliated in the eyes of 
the Nation, and every worthy citizen feels the shame. How 
shall her name and her politics be permanently redeemed 
from the curse of low aims and a groveling civic dishonesty? 
As in the early days Knox College furnished many mission- 
aries of religion to distant lands, let her now provide clear- 
visioned and unfaltering home missionaries of political 
honor, civic righteousness, and the common good. And 
they can exert that influence most eflfectively by vigorous 
and generous participation in public affairs. 

Our past and our present give us confident hope of 
larger service in the future. Let the men and women of 
Knox seek position, power and wealth, as the Founders 
did; and let these be dedicated to the service of the com- 
munity and the country, and to the preservation in our af- 
fairs of those moral and political principles without which 
the Nation cannot survive. 



174 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

[After the address by Mr. Bancroft, President McClelland in- 
troduced Mr. George Candee Gale, class of '93, great grandson of 
the Founder, who spoke as follows:] 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: I have been as- 
signed a hard task to-night. It is always difficult to follow 
Mr. Bancroft, but, after such a speech as we have just heard, 
it is impossible for me to say anything that in the compari- 
son you can't help making can possibly seem worth while. 
Then, too, I've spoken so often of the founders and their 
work and both are so familiar to you that I think you must 
know all I have to say even before I begin to speak. The 
best I can do is to give you the old thoughts in new dress 
and try to deserve your leniency by being very brief. 

If it be true, as is so often said, that this middle West is 
the backbone of our Nation, it is due largely to the qualities 
of the early settlers. They who made it great were not 
mere land speculators seeking their own fortune, but were 
willing to forego their own advantage for that of others. 
Their qualities are typified in the Galesburg founders, 
among whom there was hardly one who was not, in a ma- 
terial sense, far better off in the East than he could ever be 
out here. And so, in a broad, yet very real and vital sense, 
any tribute to the Founders of Knox College and of Gales- 
burg, is a tribute to all the early settlers of the Mississippi 
Valley. 

We honor and revere them for their prophetic vision, 
seeing in the vacant prairies a populous and prosperous 
community ; for their willingness to give up the comforts of 
civilization for the hardships of pioneer life and, most of all, 
for that spirit of self-sacrifice, which impelled them to fore- 
go the present gain to serve the future needs; to surrender 
their own advantage, their own welfare, for that of their 
children and their children's children, of descendants of 
alien generations yet unborn, whom they might never 
know, yet whom and whose needs they visioned in their 
dreams. 



THE PIONEERS 175 

In that spirit and with that idea, I pay tribute to-night 
to The Prairie Pioneers. 



THE PIONEERS 
GEORGE CANDEE GALE, CLASS OF '93. 

With widening vision in the plain they stood, 
And gazed with eager eyes the country o'er; 

Beheld her prairies and pronounced them good, 
And rested, satisfied to seek no more. 

Yet oft they looked and, looking, saw in view, 
The pictured prairies, framed by distant trees. 

Painted with flowers of ev'ry brilliant hue, 
And waves of changing color in the breeze; 

'Neath drifting clouds the trailing shadows run; 

The morning freshness of the Springtime lawn; 
The sudden thunderstorm ; the reddening sun 

That fronts the rainbow at the eve and dawn. 

At eventide full many a golden West; 

And fair Spring mornings shimmering softly green; 
And dusky nights of starlit loveliness 

Their vision filled with Nature's charm hath seen. 

At home, where ripples soft the Mohawk blue, 

They dwelt in rustic solitude, afar 
From maddening turmoil, strife, and changes new; 

Unfelt the distant shock of trade and war. 

Ambitionless and quiet were their lives. 
Their narrow outlook all their thousrht confined: 

High destiny's for him alone who strives. 

Who toils, feels, dreams and thinks with open mmd. 

Thus might a stranger muse, yet in their blood 
Impulsive flowed the restless, racial surge, 

That swept their sires from England, in a flood 
Of righteous wrath and discontent, to urge 

The claims of conscience in a virgin land, 
The right of man to worship God alone; 

His only guide, the inner, still command; 

Each soul a monarch and each heart a throne ! 

Freedom they sought not, for that boon was theirs, 
That heritage of faith and blood and tears, 

Their ancestors, strong sires of worthy heirs, 

Bequeathed them, wrung from the reluctant years. 



176 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Yet Freedom seems to them but empty sound, 
While Knowledge from their ken her wealth conceals; 

The freeman, ignorant, in chains is bound, 
'Till Wisdom in his soul herself reveals. 

And Knowledge, bound by prejudice, is blind : 
System and dogma to the truth must yield, 

Else Learning rivets shackles on the mind : 
The hooded falcon dare not strike afield. 

Then deep within their consciousness, elate 
With high resolve, did noble purpose rise, 

For them, no toil too hard, no task too great, 
To make their learning, free, their freedom, wise. 

Like one aflame with inspiration rare. 
Who sees the future in his dreams unroll. 

They saw their city, church and school rise fair 
Within the templed precincts of their soul. 

And to that end in emulation rife. 

Each vied with each ; with ardent zeal they wrought, 
'Till, true unto their high ideal, to life 

The very shadows of their dreams they brought. 

For them the sowing and the toil, the tear. 
Where others reap with laughter and delight. 

So cooling springs refresh the desert drear. 
From sources hid in some far mountain height. 

If you, who prize memorials, in scorn 
Ask why no stone, no bronze, to them we raise, 

No towering shaft, their memory to adorn 
With sculptured verses showing forth their praise, 

We answer : Look around ! You shall behold 

A smiling country and a land content, 
Where Justice is not bought nor Honor sold, 

Their true memorial and their monument. 




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COMMENCEMENT PROGRAM 



177 



Thursday, June 13, 10 A. M. 



The Sixty-Seventh Annual Commencement. 

PROGRAM 

Organ Processional — The Pilgrims' Chorus, ----- Wagner 

Prof. John Winter Thompson. 
Procession. 

Invocation. 

"Our College and the Education of Women," - Gladys M. Campbell 
"Galesburg before the Industrial Revolution," - Helen M. Ryan 
"Environment and Civilization," - _ - _ Martha L. Latimer 
"A Natural Foundation for the Peace Movement" - Jesse A. Crafton 
Water Lilies, -----__ hinders 

The Girls' Glee Club, 
"The Reform Movement in Education," - - - Josephine Wible 
"The Re-Alignment of Political Parties," - - Palmer D. Edmunds 
"Political Altruism," ------- Robert W. Caldwell 

"The Advance of the Progressive," ----- Ray L. Sauter 

(Miss Campbell, Mr. Edmunds, Miss Latimer, Miss Ryan, and Miss 
Wible are appointed on this program on the basis of superior scholar- 
ship. Mr. Caldwell, Mr. Crafton, and Mr. Sauter receive the honor 
of appointment in recognition of their record in oratory and debate.) 

Organ — Selected, ----- Prof. John Winter Thompson 

CONFERRING OF DEGREES 

AWARDING OF PRIZES 

BENEDICTION 

CLASS OF 1912 
candidates for the degree of a. b. 

Barlow, Ada L., Galva Jacobson, Margaret E., Bishop 

Caldwell, Robert W., Galva Hill 

Campbell, Gladys M., Galesburg Joy, Ralph B., Keokuk, la. 

Coat, Bessie, Mason City Latimer, Martha L., Galesburg 

Collins, Nelle F., Knoxville Mehler, Hazel F., Galesburg 

Conner, Lucille, Vinton, la. Morris, Mildred V., Council Bluffs 

Dunseth, Mary M., Waverly Iowa 

Edmunds, Palmer, D., Chelan, Nelson, Johanna M., Oneida 

Wash. Potter, Lois, Galesburg 

Fox, John Russell, Hailey, Ida. Ryan, Helen M., Galesburg 

Good, Martha A., Neponset Slough, Howard A., Abingdon 

Green, Susie, Oklahoma City, Stansel, Belle I., Yorkville 

Okla. Turner, Helen M., Cambridge 

Hague, Lee Anna D., Galesburg Vose, James H., Macomb 

Harty Theresa A., Galesburg Warren, Worcester, Missouri Val- 
Irwin, Florence L., Galesburg ley, la. 

Wible, Josephine, Mendon 



178 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF B. S. 



Barclay, Irvin C, Macomb 
Barter Glen A., Galesburg 
Beard Fred W., Augusta 
Bridge, Irene O., Galesburg 
Briggs, Violette M., Mount Ster- 
ling 
Burns, Charles M., Galesburg 
Crafton, Jesse A., Springfield 
Craig, Noel E., Kewanee 
Crozier, Fred W., Carmi 
Ehinsworth, Carl M., Galesburg 
Eastman, Orlo A., Galesburg 
Eldridge, Robert B., Sioux City, 
Iowa 



Goodsill, Marshall Max, Galesburg 
Hayes, Harry H., Brimfield 
Hill, Florence M., Dundee 
Hill, Oliver H., Mt. Carmel 
Ingersoll, Winifred C, Galesburg 
Meacham, Marvin E., Roseville 
Purington, Daniel Stewart, Chi- 
cago 
Quillin, Mary A., Ipava 
Robbins, Harriet L., Payson 
Sauter, Ray L., Galesburg 
Thompson, Geo. H., Chicago 
Thompson, Ruth L., Galesburg 



CANDIDATES FOR GRADUATION IN THE 
CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC 



Anderson, Lillian C, Alpha 
Bibbins, Nelle M., Galesburg 
Crane, Mary A., Oneida 
Epperson, Grace L., Oneida 
Gates, Amie Elizabeth, Stillwater. 

Minn. 
Helm, Hazel, San Diego, Cal. 
McClure, Vera W., LaHarpe 
Metcalf, Emma S., Illiopolis 
Morley, Irma L., Galesburg 



Nelson, Maude L., Blandinsville 
Newcomb, Claude R., Galesburg 
Osborn, William J., Galesburg 
Patterson, Elma Powers, Mon- 
mouth 
Shaver, Winifred, North Hender- 
son 
Soule, Ralph W., Seattle, Wash. 
Swigert, Leitha, London Mills 
Wilson, Alvin, Galesburg 



CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF M. A. 

Inness, Lucy Mabel, Galesburg Zetterberg, Arvid P., Avon 

CANDIDATE FOR THE DEGREE OF M. S. 

Peters, William W., Galesburg 

THE DEGREE OF A. B. (wiTH THE CLASS OF 1881) 

Mary Scott, Galesburg 
HONORARY DEGREES 

THE DEGREE OF D. D. 



•Rev. Arthur M. Little, Peoria 
Rev. Roy B. Guild, Topeka, Kan. 



Rev. J. Percival Huget, Detroit, 
Mich. 



THE DEGREE OF LL. D. 

Charles W. Leffingwell, Pasadena, John Van Ness Standish, Gales- 
Calif, burg 
John P. Wilson, Chicago. Edgar A. Bancroft, Chicago. 



THE DEGREE OF LITT. D. 



George Henry Perkins, Burling- 
ton, Vt. 
Ellen B. Scripps, La Jolla, Calif 



Thomas R. Willard, Galesburg 



THE DEGREE OF M. A. 

Ida M. McCall, Galesburg 



COMMEMORATION ADDRESSES 179 

Thursday, June 13, 3 P. M. 

[The formal exercises in commemoration of the Seventy-fifth 
Anniversary included addresses of reminiscence and congratulation 
by the representatives of various educational institutions, east and 
west. The order of introduction was as follows:] 

John H. Finley, Knox, '87, President of the College of 
the City of New York, formerly President of Knox College, 
who spoke with a tenderness of feeling and an intimacy of 
address significant of his relations to Alma Mater. 

Edward D. Eaton, President of Beloit College. 

John S. Nollen, President of Lake Forest College. 

Charles A. Blanchard, President of Wheaton College, 
son of Jonathan Blanchard, second President of Knox Col- 
lege. 

Hon. Frank Hamlin, President of the Harvard Club of 
Chicago, representing Harvard College. 

Booker T. Washington, President of Tuskegee Institute, 
who spoke with great earnestness and eloquence, expressing 
the gratitude of his people to the citizens of Galesburg and 
to Knox College for their work in behalf of his race. 

Victor Exting, Alumnus, representing Columbia Univer- 
sity. 

George Shipman Payson, President of the Yale Club of 
Chicago, representing Yale University. 

Prof. Arthur Graves Canfield, representing the Univer- 
sity of Michigan. 

Letters of congratulations were read from 

J. H. T. Main, President of Grinnell College. 
Earnest Fox Nicols, President of Dartmouth College. 
J. G. Schurman, President of Cornell University. 
Wallace Buttrick, Secretary, the General Education 
Board. 

Hon. Charles S. Deneen, Governor of Illinois. 

Hon. William H. Taft, President of the United States. 



180 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

NOTES OF ADDRESS 
JOHN H. FINLEY, KNOX, '87, 
President of the College of the City of New York. 

One cannot make a formal address on the occasion of a 
Mother's birthday. One generally uses then a language 
unknown to rhetoric. One brings instead of sentences and 
periods a handful of familiar flowers, a loved book or some 
other simple gift that speaks the filial greeting of affection. 
For the mother would smile at the son whom she had taught 
his ancient and modern lore if he should try to pronounce 
an oration over her. And, moreover, he would fail anyway. 

I should have brought you, Alma Mater, if I had had 
time to go out along the railroad track south of town, where 
the wild flowers used still to be blooming when I was a stu- 
dent, a handful of those flowers, such as you used to grow 
upon the prairies when you first saw them, not as a child, 
but as a woman grown, for you sprang full-panoplied as 
Minerva from the head of the Jove of this colony. If there 
came to you again their fragrance, you could hear the 
meadow larks again, and, I doubt not, the lonesome croaking 
of the frogs in Cedar Fork. And you would re-call the 
voices of the cranes that used to go honking overhead long, 
long before the automobiles came honking about you. 

But you are much as my own mother was, so gentle but 
puritanical, and you would not have me buy flowers at the 
greenhouse for your birthday. So, since I could not bring 
the wild flowers I have brought a book ; not a valuable book 
such as Mr. Lawrence finds now and then, printed by Aldus 
Manutius or some other famous printer, but one almost as 
rare. It is a book of books, a catalogue of the period before 
that of the card-catalogue, — a "Catalogue of the Books in 
the College, Adelphi and Gnothautii Society Libraries of 
Knox College." The College Library portion was compiled 
by Professor Hurd, the only person, except the student 
librarian and possibly the janitor once a year, who was ever 



COMMEMORATION ADDRESSES 181 

permitted to enter the sacred place where the books were 
kept. * * * * I have modestly deferred as long as 
possible mention of the fact that I was the publisher. And 
I recall with a gratitude and pride, keen even to this day, 
that you, O Alma Mater, through the trustees, in recogni- 
tion of this service, awarded me my diploma without the 
payment of the usual fee. 

But I bring this book, — and I am thinking that if every 
graduate were to bring or send a book each year, we could 
not better mark your birthdays, — I bring this book, not to 
remind you of my part in its production (proud as I am of 
that excuse), but to avail of its help in giving you my affec- 
tionate congratulations. 



It was twenty-five years ago that you made gracious 
acknowledgement of the small edition of this publication 
fresh from the hands of the amateur printer, who learned 
his trade while setting up in Colville's shop his translations 
of "Prometheus Bound" or some other classic, for his next 
day's recitation. And it has become not merely the record 
of the world's progress in the quarter of a century since, but 
a means of estimating your own wonderful development. 
It tells us that the world was, or seemed, very young then. 
Since those days, which seem but as yesterday, it has grown 
tens of thousands of years older. The chemist, the biologist 
and the physicist have carried the boundaries of life back- 
ward and forward, till enternity of time has become con- 
ceivable. 



This catalogue reminds us too of changes in the defini- 
tions of things, — of matter, of magnetism, of the atoms 
themselves. But it tells us, too, that those great Knox 
teachers of that day had their eyes toward the infinite and 
that since their day the forces of the finite have but been 
moved farther out toward the infinite, unbounded fields. 



Then, as I was saying yesterday in Iowa, in these few 



182 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

years has been completed the conquest of earth's distances. 
We have conquered the afar. We have come into "plane- 
tary consciousness." As one has recently put it there is 
now "nothing unknown this side of the moon." 

What this means is that the experience of all fractions of 
the race is being put at the command of the whole in its 
ideals, its ideas and its substance. 



We are not disposed to philosophize on this occasion. 
Dear Mother, but we cannot help wondering whether with 
the lengthening of time and the widening of the world you 
will keep your charming simplicity and impart to all who 
come the peculiar qualities which partake so strongly of 
heritage and locality. With all that the universal is to give, 
may you never lose these. 



So, O Mother, do I give you thanks on behalf of thy 
many children, and pray long life to the able and successful 
president and the devoted, high-minded teachers, who are 
making this our beloved college, a mighty power for right 
throughout the world, nourished as it is of wholesome tra- 
ditions, and established not for a single century, but for 
many centuries, here in the greatest valley of all the earth. 



COMMEMORATION ADDRESSES 183 

NOTES OF ADDRESS 

CHARLES A. BLANCHARD, 
President of Wheaton College. 

The Pioneers 

It is a little embarrassing to be one of a number of 
speakers on an occasion like this without the opportunity of 
conference. One is liable to repeat thoughts which have 
occurred to others who are partners on the speaking list, but 
there is this compensation, if certain thoughts occur to a 
number of individuals on a given occasion it is safe to say 
that those thoughts are important. In this case they will 
bear repetition, so perhaps one should be quite at his ease 
even though he finds that his own words have been natural- 
ly suggested to others. 

Men of Vision 

The pioneer is always one who sees the invisible. In 
one of our magazines this month there is a story of detective 
work. Certain United States soldiers were set to guard the 
mint in San Francisco when the city was in ashes. Certain 
bank wreckers were engaged in seeking to find a way into 
the vaults without the knowledge of the guard above 
ground. Certain detectives were on the watch and felt sure 
that something of the sort was going forward though what 
it was they could not tell, but vigilant and watchful they 
discovered the effort in time to frustrate it. When after a 
fierce struggle below ground the thieves had been bound and 
the policemen dragged them out, the army officer in charge 
said to the chief of the police force, "I did not know any- 
thing about what was going on down there. How did you 
know?" and the policeman replied, "You are paid to see 
what you can see and you done it. I am paid to see what 
I can't see and I done that." The pioneer is not always paid 
to see what he cannot see but he must see what he cannot 
see or he will never be a pioneer. 



184 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

My own memory of Galesburg falls twenty-five years 
short of the day we celebrate, yet as I remember this good 
old town it was absolutely primitive. Houses, stores, all 
were insignificant. Of course one may be mistaken, but I 
imagine that there are single dwellings in Galesburg to-day 
which are worth more money than all the buildings, public 
and private, in the city at the time I knew it. 

It was a triumph of the imagination for a group of men 
to gather in a room in central or western New York, in a 
day when there was not a railway line of any extent in the 
whole country, when the pioneer must creep along in a 
prairie schooner or a canal boat, and at that time to see the 
waves of population surging over the Alleghenies, flooding 
across the great valley, surmounting the Rockies and filling 
up the western maritime plain, to see these advancing 
waves of population carrying with them churches, homes 
and all the characteristics of a modern civilization. 

The average man who seeks for money or for pleasure 
is never gifted with such sights. Like the beast in the stall 
he eats what is before him, drinks what is at hand, lies down 
to sleep when wearied and rises to live a second day like 
the first. This is the life perhaps of the average man. 

The Men and Women of Heavenly Vision 

But the visions which came to our fathers were not sim- 
ply of material development. If they had been the lives of 
these men would have been in no essential particular su- 
perior to the lives of those they left behind. In all ages the 
pioneers have been frequently, not in every instance, men of 
spiritual insight and foresight. They did not see farms, 
buildings, railways and canals only, they saw men and 
women and children, and these men and women and chil- 
dren whom they saw were different from other men and 
women and children. The difference was caused by the 
spiritual ideals which controlled them. These pioneers took 
it for their life task to furnish those lofty ideals which were 
to make the nobler people in the coming age. They did not 
desire that people should have more or better things to eat, 



COMMEMORATION ADDRESSES 18S 

larger or more elegant homes in which to live, more costly 
apparel, more elegant equipments. They desired the men to 
be more noble in character, loftier in intelligence, more 
benevolent in willing, and to accomplish these things they 
placed themselves at the head waters of a great community. 
They built themselves with tears and toils into the founda- 
tions of that which we see to-day. 

They were puritans. They knew that greed and pleas- 
ure loving never could construct a glorious civilization. 
They were toilers as well as puritans. They did not play 
cards, nor go to dances, nor tolerate liquor shops, nor at- 
tend theaters, nor raise their sons for gamblers and liber- 
tines. They gave their weeks to labor and their Sabbaths to 
worship. There was with them no Sunday evening prob- 
lem at all. Mornings and evenings they thronged to the 
house of God. Prayer meetings were not left to women 
while men sat about in lodges and clubs smoking and tell- 
ing questionable stories. Not at all. In one end of the pew 
sat the mother, in the other end of the pew sat the father 
and between them sat the sons and the daughters. Sons — 
stalwart lads, and daughters — pure and fair and beautiful; 
these were the homes of the pioneers. 

Men and Women of Courage 

Whatever one may think of these magnificent men and 
women no one who knows a small part of the facts will deny 
to them a lofty and magnificent courage. To sell the home 
in the East to load a few scanty household effects into a 
wagon and to start by canal boat or lake schooner or prairie 
schooner on a voyage of hundreds of miles through an un- 
broken wilderness; to find a way across bridgeless rivers 
and bottomless swamps and through malaria and fever; to 
plant a new home miles away from their homes and to go 
through wet seasons and dry, with no markets for surplus 
produce and no provision for supplying ever recurring 
wants ; to toil on, struggle on, fight on, until the difficult sit- 
uation had been mastered and the new community had been 
born; these were not the tasks of weaklings, men of slug- 



186 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

gish mind and flabby muscle. There were giants in those 
days; spiritual giants, intellectual giants, physical giants, 
men and women of might ; and we are their sons and daugh- 
ters. W^hat sort of sons and daughters are we? 

If sometimes we are ashamed of the unworldliness and 
the homely virtues of these pioneers do we ever stop to ask 
ourselves what they would think of us? If not, it might be 
well for, first or last, we must be rated at our real value. 
The frivolities, the extravagances, the follies and the sins 
of to-day do not show well against the stern integrity of 
seventy-five years ago. It is poor business to build the 
tombs of the prophets if we stone those who are sent to us. 
It will be no particular credit to anyone to laud the pioneers 
and to live a selfish and ignoble life. 



[Professor Frank Sargent Hoffman, of the Faculty of Union 
College, presented in an official letter the greetings of the institu- 
tion which he represented:] 

President McClelland: 

Two weeks ago to-day on the campus of the institution 
I have the honor to represent, was begun the celebration of 
the 250th anniversary of the founding of the city of Sche- 
nectady, N. Y. In the historical pageant that followed the 
most interesting and important events represented were 
those connected with Union College, which was founded in 
1795, being the first college west of the Hudson River and 
the first undenominational institution for higher education 
in America. 

Over eight thousand young men have gone forth from 
its halls. Among others on its calendars you will find the 
names of William H. Seward, Abraham Lincoln's famous 
Secretary of State, Chester A. Arthur, once President of the 
United States, William McKinley of our Law School, twice 



COMMEMORATION ADDRESSES 187 

chosen to that high office, John Howard Paine, the author 
of "Home, Sweet Home," Francis Wayland, the maker of 
Brown University at Providence, R. L, Thomas C. Brown- 
ell, the founder of University College at Hartford, Conn,, 
John Howard Raymond, the founder of Vassar College at 
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and L. Clarke Seelye, the founder of 
Smith College at Northampton, Mass. 

But no names on the roll of Union are held in higher 
honor and esteem than those of the four young men who 
three-quarters of a century ago came to this unsettled west- 
ern prairie to lay the foundations of a modern Christian col- 
lege and to ensure to those who were to follow them the 
continued blessings of a refined and civilized life. 

First and foremost in this group we must put the name 
of George W. Gale — a name which, in my opinion, ought to 
have been given to the college as well as to this prosperous 
and beautiful city. While in college, Gale was a favorite 
pupil of its President, Dr. Eliphalet Nott, and later often 
consulted him regarding the establishing of a center of 
Christian culture in this valley. Gale was given his A. B. 
degree at Union in 1814 and his D. D. degree in 1857. Many 
of the colonists who came here with him had relatives and 
friends in the classes at Union and the names of Kellogg, 
Curtis, Johnson, Avery and Churchill are among the most 
familiar on our lists. 

Gale and his coadjutors had a much harder and a more 
heroic task before them than the other founders of colleges 
that I have already mentioned, for the latter located their 
institutions in populous cities and had the backing of 
wealthy patrons from the very outset. But the founders of 
Knox College established their homes in a region almost 
untrodden by the foot of man and furnished the means for 
the starting and continuance of this institution by depriving 
themselves, in many instances, of the common necessities 
of life. 

The second name on our honor roll is that of George B. 
Lawrence. He joined the Galesburg Colony almost imme- 
diately after graduating and was always a warm friend of 



188 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Knox. He became the great jurist of this region and for 
many years filled the high office of Chief Justice of the Su- 
preme Court of Illinois. 

Next comes Philip Sidney Post, who rose to the position 
of Brigadier General in our Civil War, represented our 
country with marked ability as Consul at the Austrian Cap- 
ital and greatly honored this community as its represent- 
ative in our House of Congress. He was always devoted to 
the interests of Knox. 

Last, but by no means the least, of the Union men who 
early cast in their lot with Knox and Christian culture in 
this region that we delight to honor, is Charles W. Leffing- 
well, who left college at the close of his junior year and 
came with his parents to settle near this city. The cause of 
higher education here and elsewhere owes him a mighty 
debt of gratitude for all that he has done in its behalf. 

In view of these facts, Mr. President, when your invita- 
tion came to us to send a delegate to your 75th anniversary, 
we at once said that no less an officer than our Chancellor 
could fittingly represent us. But as our commencement 
came on the same day as yours, it was impossible to spare 
him. We then decided to send our senior professor, and as 
that person happens to be myself, I have the unusual priv- 
ilege and honor of coming to you in the dual capacity of a 
former pupil and as a delegate of the institution that in a 
very real sense gave this college birth. 

In our country and age the changes are rapid and what 
is done in one part of the land is soon felt in every other. 
No man or institution can live unto itself. In these latter 
years the debt that Knox owes to Union and the East is be- 
ing rapidly and amply repaid. If anyone to-day in our part 
of the country wishes to travel even to an adjoining city, he 
has to seek the aid of the President of the New York Cen- 
tral lines who is a Knox graduate. If we attend a national 
or international gathering of any sort in the metropolis we 
are almost certain to have the President of the College of 
the City of New York as our presiding officer, and he grad- 
uated from Knox. If we want to look up the latest thing in 



COMMEMORATION ADDRESSES 189 

literature, or science, or art we shall probably find the gist 
of it in "McClures" or "The American," and the editors of 
both of these periodicals came from Knox. In the world of 
finance no man stood higher in general esteem in New York 
City than Robert Mather, the late lamented President of the 
Westinghouse Company, and he was a Knox graduate. 

Mr. President, although I now stand here as a delegate 
of Union, I cannot allow that fact to diminish one whit my 
sense of personal indebtedness to Knox College. Churchill 
fitted me for college and Comstock and Hurd took me more 
than half way through my undergraduate course. For three 
years I taught in the public schools of this city. All my life 
has been spent in academic circles and I have no hesitation 
in saying that no institution in the land has done or is doing 
better work for the progress of sound learning and the de- 
velopment of high moral worth in the young men and 
women of our country than Knox College. 

I extend to you. Sir, and to the Faculty and to the Board 
of Trustees and to the graduates and friends of the college 
the hearty greetings of old Union and the personal felicita- 
tions of a grateful heart. May Knox College under your 
guidance and that of your successors continue to be a 
mighty center of light and leading in this Mississippi valley, 
this state, this nation and to an ever increasing extent, 
throughout the world. 



190 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



THE WHITE HOUSE 

WASHINGTON 



May 29, 1912 



My dear President McClelland : 

Replying to your letter of May 24th, 
I am very glad to send my cordial greet- 
ings to Knox College and to those who 
have gathered to celelorate its 75th 
Anniversary. It would he a pleasure to 
be with you. I send you my best wishes 
for the continued prosperity and suc- 
cess of your Institution. 

Sincerely yours, 




President ThomasMcClelland, 
Galesburg, Illinois. 



THE HISTORICAL PAGEANT 
Thursday, June 13, 5 P. M. 

THE PAGEANT 
The Pageant is divided into five great periods 

I. The Indian Period. 

II. The Pioneer Period. 

III. The Ante-Bellum Period. 

IV. The Civil War Period. 

V. The Modern Period. 



191 



Each period is divided into a number of scenes (twenty- 
nine in all) which in general typify the most important 
events in the history of the town and college. 

The Herald, stationed at the left of the stage, will an- 
nounce the numbers of the scenes as they progress. These 
numbers are to be found in the second column of the 
scenario. 

I. THE INDIAN PERIOD 

Overture — "Morning, Noon and Night".. Knox Conservatory Orchestra 



THE STORY 



CAST OF CHARACTERS 



(1) Indian children rush 
in and indulge in games 
in the center of the plot, 
while 



Howard Holt 
Harold Givler 
Ray Givler 
Bernard Barnes 
Vernet Taylor 



Vivian Seaton 
Mildred Scott 
Irene Seaton 
Mabel Roberts 
Fern Grady 
Ida Rodenhauser 

Pupils from 



Boys 

Ralph Comber 
Julian Palmer 
Robert Swigart 
Stewart Gordon 
Horal Dickerson 

Girls 

Anna Arms 
Doris Housh 
Gertrude Hart 
Amelia Postelle 
Qeora Jones 
Irene Long 

the Cooke School. 



192 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



THE STORY 



CAST OF CHARACTERS 



(2) A little later Indian 
chiefs and braves meet in 
council at the center of 
the plot, while 



(3) Simultaneously, In- 
dian squaws set up a tepee 
at the left of the plot and 
grind corn and scrape 
skins. While they do 
this 



(4) Indian boys run 
pony races across the plat 
in the rear, yelling and 
cheering. After this the 
herald blows his trumpet 
and the curtains of the 
stage part, revealing 



C A Stage Picture of 
"^ the signing of the 
circular and plan which 
embodied the purpose of 
the founders at Whitcs- 
boro, N. Y., Jan. 7, 1836. 
The Indians watch the 
picture, which is to them 
a premonition of the com- 
ing of the white man, and 
are about to return to 
their duties, when 

(6) An Indian runner 
comes in and announces 
to the council that the 
white man is coming, 
whereupon 

(7) The Indians strike 
camp and move out of 
sight to the westward, 
after which 



The Indian chiefs and braves are rep- 
resented by Messrs. 
Allensworth Church 
Crozier rCd. Grogan 
Larson Hands 
La Monte Joseph Wyne 
Lee Lewis E. Lewis 
Whitsett Neifert 



The Indian squaws are represented by 
the Misses 

Burton Brent 

Felt Dallach 

Gumbiner Painter 

Kline Ryan 

Woodman Kranz 
Bowman 



The Indian boys are represented by 

Messrs. 

Norman Dan Wheeler 

Leinhard Marriott 

Easum 

Pony girl: Miss Cowan, Chief in 
charge of the races represented by Mr, 
Ira T. Carrithers. 

The men representing the signers are 
Rev. Stuart Campbell,. Irvin Barclay 
Pastor First Presby Ray Brown 
terian church, Gales- Gustave Spitze 
burg. Curtis Cady 



The part of the Indian runner is taken 
by Mr. Rollin Wetherbee, '13. 




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THE HISTORICAL PAGEANT 



193 



THE STORY 



(8) The Spirit of the 
Prairie is seen sorrowful- 
ly to take her way to the 
westward; but soon 

(9) The Spirit of the 
Future overtakes her and 
reconciles her, pointing 
joyously to the Coming 
of the Pioneers, at which 
point the next period of 
the pageant begins. 



CAST OF CHARACTERS 



The Spirit of the Prairie is represented 
by Miss Martha Latimer, '12. 



The Spirit of the Future is represented 
by Miss Mary Quillin, '12. 



II. THE PIONEER PERIOD 



(10) This period is 
opened by the appearance 
on the green of a "Prairie 
Schooner" and two other 
vehicles which advance to 
the center of the plot. 
Here they are halted, 
while the women and chil- 
dren are helped out. They 
are welcomed by settlers 
in Henderson Grove who 
were already on the 
ground, and 



(11) A religious service 
of thanksgiving is held 
upon the prairie, after 
which 



(12) The horses are un- 
hitched, and the side cur- 
tains of the stage being 
drawn back, the log cab- 
ins of "Log City" are re- 
vealed, about which a busy 
scene of pioneer life is 
enacted, the men going 
out to work and the wo- 
men busying themselves 
about the cabins. After 
this, at the sound of the 
Herald's trumpet, there is 
shown 



The persons representing the pioneers 
are 



Mr. and Mrs. E. M. 

Wetmore 
Mr. and Mrs. J. J. 

Hammond 
Mrs. A. D. Stearns 
Charles Lass 
Orin Gentry 
Philip Gentry 
Fred McFarland 
Maxine McFarland 
Mrs. A. O. Lind- 

strum 
Herbert Lindstrum 
Fanita Ferris 
Geo. Minehan 
Louise Slattery 

The pastor in charge of the religious 
service, who was the Rev. George W. 
Gale, is represented by Rev. Stuart M. 
Campbell, pastor of the First Presbyter- 
ian church of Galesburg. 

The family established in the single 
cabin erected upon the arrival of the first 
settlers is represented by 
Mrs. A. O. Rich Beverly Rich 
Mrs. J. H. Losey Katherine Simonds 
Mr. Ray Brown Eleanor Simonds 

Harriett Rich 



Lee Schoettler 

Myrtle Schoettler 

Helen Booze 

Henry and Lawrence 
Wetmore 

Helen, Francis, Phil- 
ip and Virginia 
Stearns 

Caroline and Calvin 
Hammond 

Helen, Margaret and 
John Neal 

Marjorie, Katherine 
and Eleanor Si- 
monds 



194 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



THE STORY 



CAST OF CHARACTERS 



13 A Stage Picture, 
showing Prof. Lo- 
sey in charge of the 
school from which grew 
the Old Academy. At the 
close of this picture 

(14) A band of Indians 
is seen to take its way 
through the colony. As 
they pass by, they pick up 
Mary Allen West, at that 
time a baby in the crib, 
and carry her off, being 
pursued by the mother 
and other colonists, who 
finally recover the baby 
and bring it back triumph- 
antly. After this, the blast 
of the Herald's trumpet 
announces 



15 



A n old-fashioned 
singing school en- 
acted on the stage. This 
picture closes this period 
and leads to the next, the 
Ante-Bellum period. 



The part of Prof. Losey is taken by his 
son, Mr. James H. Losey. The children 
in the picture are those who appeared 
in the earlier scenes of the period. 



The Indian chiefs and braves are the 
same as those who appeared in the In- 
dian period. 

The Indian chief who kidnaps the baby 
is represented by Lee Lewis. 

The part of the mother is taken by 
Mrs. A. O. Rich. 

The baby is the infant daughter of Dr. 
and Mrs. William Maley. 



The ladies and gentlemen of the sing- 
ing school are represented by 
Mrs. E. E. Hinchliff Alice Lowrie 



Mrs. D. J. Griswold 
Florence Bentley 
Helen Thompson 
Mrs. W. S.Laurence 
Mrs. W. B. Horton 
Mrs. M. C. Eckley 
Mrs. S. E. Boggess 
Lillian Anderson 
Nellie Bibbins 



C. R. Newcomb 
E. E. Hinchliff 
J. M. Peddell 
H. F. Arnold 

D. J. Griswold 
W. S. Laurence 
Ray Arnold 
W. B. Carlton 



III. THE ANTE-BELLUM PERIOD 



(16) This Period is 
opened by a representa- 
tion of the Lincoln-Doug- 
las Debate, in preparation 
for which a group of men 
are seen to come upon the 
green, shaking newspapers 
and fists in each others 
faces, and talking excited- 
ly. They spread off to- 
ward the sides and as the 
women and children ap- 
pear upon the scene 



The persons involved in this scene are 



Vernon Welsh 
Ralph Roth 
Rollin Wetherbee 
Irvmg H. Prince 
Herbert Miller 
Mac Gillis 
Wallace Thompson 
Cecil Lescher 
Crawford Elder 
Norman Ives 
Russell Liedell 
Philip Colton 
Chas. Purviance 
Harold Rearick 



Lawrence Ingersoll 
Kendall Hinman 
Stuart Campbell 
Dana Clark 
John Qark 
Sydney Simpson 
J. C. Clark 
George Gale 
Gale Wallace 
Robert St. Clair 
Will Tomlinson 
Edwin Williams 
Bert Hurff 
Carl McKinley 



THE HISTORICAL PAGEANT 



195 



THE STORY 



CAST OF CHARACTERS 



(17) The drum corps is 
heard playing in the dis- 
tance and the cavalcade is 
seen approaching. Little 
boys run ahead and with 
the procession. The or- 
der of march is: 

1. Drum Corps. 

2. Military Escort. 

3. Douglas' Carriage. 

4. Escort of Ladies on 
Horseback. 

5. Brass Band. 

6. Military Escort. 

7. Lincoln's Carriage. 

8. Escort of Ladies on 
Horseback. 

9. Floats of Young Girls. 
10. Other Vehicles. 

The carriages of Lin- 
coln and Douglas are 
drawn on past, and out of 
sight, while most of the 
crowd congregate in front 
of the stage. Then at the 
call of the Herald's trum- 
pet there is shown 

1 Q A stage picture dis- 
^ playing the setting 
of the Lincoln-Douglas 
debate. Notables are seat- 
ed on the platform, Lin- 
coln is speaking, Douglas 
is seen sitting at the left, 
holding a cane. At the 
close of this picture the 
crowd disperses and an 
ante-bellum incident of 
unusual interest is en- 
acted. 

(19) The Underground 
Railway, which is repre- 
sented by the appearance 
of a load of straw, which 
is met by a number of 
white men. From the 
straw there then emerge 
runaway slaves, who are 
led away by white sym- 
pathizers, a few of whom 
remain, conversing with 
the driver. 



Drum Corps: J. T. Piatt, C. L. Brown, 

fifers. 

The drummers are from Company C, 
I. N. G. 

Young ladies in this scene: 
Vera Largent Anna Gale Stuck 



Vera Ockert 
Reba Fellingham 
Elizabeth Nicholas 
Gertrude Van Riper 
Blanche Canty 
Margaret Ayer 
Pauline Arnold 
Katharie Harring- 
ton 
Louise Harrington 
Alice Beadle 
Jeanette Gale 
Hortense Nelson 
Esther Mayes 



Frances Johnson 
Esto Carrier 
Violet West 
Ruth West 
Harriett Wilson 
Marjorie Felt 
Fern Webber 
Lucille Conner 
Baby Cox 
Alice Lewis 
Adaline Kohler 
Roxy Throop 
Mary Lewis 
Alice Porter 



Brass Band — College Band. 



The part of Lincoln is taken by J. 
Franklin Hedgcock, '14. 

The part of Douglas is taken by Alfred 
J. Keig, '15. 

Chairman, Mr. Henry F. Arnold. 



The parts of the slaves are taken by 
RoUin Wetherbee, Robert McClure. 

The part of the driver is taken by Mr. 
Earl Bridge. 

The other people in the scene are Miss 
Delia Spinner, Miss Marie Seacord, Mr. 
Harry Aldrich. 



196 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



THE STORY 



(20) Soon, however, the 
sheri^ appears with his 
writ. All appear disinter- 
ested and lead the sheriff 
off in the wrong direction, 
after which 

(21) The slaves are 
brought back and hurried 
on their journey again 
This brings this period to 
a close. 



CAST OF CHARACTERS 



The part of the sheriff is taken by Mr. 
Ray M. Arnold. 



IV. THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD 



(22) This period i s 
opened by a group of 
young men entering upon 
the green, talking in a very 
excited manner. Their 
conversation is interrupt- 
ed by the appearance of — 

(23) A n officer who 
posts a proclamation call- 
ing for volunteers for the 
army. Two young men 
respond at once and are 
led away by the officer 
after which comes 

(24) The drilling of the 
"Awkward Squad." This 
is without music. After 
the "Awkward Squad" has 
been marched off, there is 
represented the 



(25) The departure of 
troops for the war. In 
this scene, after the troops 
have marched in, a dele- 
gation of ladies advances 
from the crowd which has 
entered from the opposite 
side, and presents the 
company with a flag. The 
troops then march out, 
the crowd disperses and 
at the blast of the Her- 
ald's trumpet, there is re- 
vealed upon the stage 



The part of the officer is taken by Capt. 
F. W. Latimer. 

The parts of the recruits are taken by 
Harvey McKemy, John H. Hedgcock. 



Squad No. i 
Paul Paddock Forrest Smith 

Ralph Ray Gustave Spitze 

Under Gerald Norman. 

Squad No. 2 
Chas. Bates Ray Brown 

Ward Beard Howard Hammer 

Under Leo Krausse. 

The soldiers of this scene are militia 
men from Company C, I. N. G., and are 
under the command of Capt. F. W. Lat- 
imer. The flag is presented by Mr. Ver- 
non Welsh, '13. 



THE HISTORICAL PAGEANT 



197 



THE STORY 



CAST OF CHARACTERS 



9 A A Stage Picture rep- 
_ ^ resenting the activ- 
ity of the women at home, 
while the men are at the 
front. Some are tearing 
bandages, others mending 
and knitting, etc., and at 
the back is a reproduction 
of the "Mother Bicker- 
dyke" monument on the 
Galesburg court house 
lawn. 

This brings to a close 
this period of the pageant. 



The persons in this scene are: 

At the Spinning Wheel: Pauline Ar- 
nold, Baby Cox. 

Writing Letters: Frances Johnson, 
Marjorie Felt. 

Packing Boxes: Mary Lewis, Fern 
Webber. 

Rolling Bandages: Alice Beadle, Kath- 
arine Harrington, Louise Harrington. 

Picking Lint: Margaret Ayer, Alice 
Lewis. 

The Bickerdyke Monument is posed by 
Miss Louise Willard and one of the 
'soldiers of Company C, I. N. G. 



MUSICAL INTERLUDE 



V. THE MODERN PERIOD 



97 This period is open 
^' ed by a stage picture 
disclosing the portraits of 
the triumvirate: 

1. Prof. Hurd 

2. Prof. Comstock 

3. Prof. Churchill 
At the unveiling of 
Prof. Churchill's por- 
trait the audience will 
sing one verse of 
"Work for the Night 
is Coming." 

4. Pres. Bateman 

At the unveiling of 
President Bateman's 
portrait, the audience 
will sing one verse of 
"All Hail the Power 
of Jesus' Name." 

5. Mrs. Whiting 

6. Mrs. McCall 
And 

7. Dean Willard. 



These will be crowned 
with garlands of flowers 
by young ladies from 
Whiting Hall, and the 
president of the Senior 
class. 



The young ladies who crown the por- 
traits are as follows: 
Prof. Hurd by Marjorie Carr. 
Prof. Comstock by Martha Good. 
Prof. Churchill by Helen Campbell. 
Pres. Bateman by Margaret Jacobson. 
Mrs. Whiting by Mary Dunn. 
Mrs. McCall by Irma Craw. 



The unveiling of the portrait of Dean 
Willard will be carried out by Carl Duns- 
worth, president of the Senior class, and 
Master Willard, grandson of Dean Wil- 
lard. 



The chair in which the portrait of Pres. 
Bateman rests is the identical chair used 
by him at Knox during his years of ser- 
vice. 



198 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



THE STORY 



CAST OF CHARACTERS 



(28) At the close of the 
ceremony of crowning the 
portraits, the classes will 
form in procession and 
group themselves about 
the platform, whereupon — 

29 The Grand Finale 
Picture will be dis- 
closed, representing the 
various activities of Knox 
students, past and present, 
Knox's spirit and ideals, 
during the contemplation 
of which the audience will 
rise and sing The Knox 
Field Song. 



The characters in this picture are rep- 
resented by: 
1. The Man with the Plow— Ray God- 
dard. 

Blacksmith — 
Carpenter — Merle Winn, 
Surveyor — Harry Stock. 
Minister — Wayne Stevens. 
Lawyer — Ralph Lucas. 
Doctor — Herschell Halladay, 
Nurse — Edith Hardy. 
Dentist — Gregg Olson. 
Civil Engineer — Mac Gillis. 
Missionary — Lee Lewis. 
Chinese — Eudocia Bardens. 
Negro — Robert McClure. 
Turk — Walter Wyne. 
Soldier — Fred Beard. 
College Professor — Warner Lack- 
land. 

Conducting — Ralph Soule. 
Violinist — George Burns. 
Vocalists — Hazel Helm, Alvin Wilson. 
Co-education — Orlo Eastman, Lois 
Potter. 

Sprinter — Bates Marriott. 
Pole Vaulter — Robert Ryan. 
Football — Howard Slough. 
Baseball — Noel Craig. 
Basket ball — Edward Adams. 
Spirit of the Prairie — Miss Martha 
Latimer. 

Spirit of the Town — Miss Mildred 
Haeger. 

Spirit of the College — Miss Winifred 
Ingersoll. 
Chemist — Geo. Meeker. 



29 



[Unfortunately at the hour for the presentation of the Pageant, 
a brisk shower began which lasted through the remainder of the 
afternoon, interfering necessarily with some of the features of the 
program. The Pageant was given, nevertheless, almost in entirety 
and a great proportion of the spectators remained to the close.] 




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THE ALUMNI DINNER 199 

Thursday, June 13, 7 P. M. 

[The Alumni Dinner was attended by about seven hundred of 
the graduates, friends and guests of the college. Tables were 
placed in the dining-room, the Sunday School room and the parlors 
of Central Church. After dinner had been served those who had 
been seated in the dining-room on the lower floor gathered in the 
main auditorium of the church and were joined by others who had 
not attended the dinner. An audience of a thousand people was 
therefore present to listen to the program of toasts, the speakers' 
table having been placed upon a platform at the northwest corner 
of the Sunday School room so that the speakers could be heard 
from all parts of the building.] 

ALUMNI DINNER— PROGRAM OF TOASTS 

Introduction 

GEORGE CANDEE GALE, '93 

President Alumni Association 

Toastmaster 

DR. JOHN HUSTON FINLEY, '87 

"His worth is warrant for his welcome." 

THE SPIKXT OF KNOX 

Our Prairie Pioneers The Moving Spirit 

MRS. ELLA F. ARNOLD, '64 
"Wind the mighty secrets of the Past and turn the Key of Time" 

Early Days The Spirit of Conquest 

HON. JOHN P. WILSON, '65 

"They bear a train of smiles and tears, of burning 

hopes and dreams sublime" 

MUSIC — KNOX glee CLUB 

Our Teachers : Past and Present . .The Spirit of Consecration 
WILLIAM G. CASKEY, '91 
"He was a scholar and a ripe and good one, 
Exceeding wise, fair spoken and persuading." 

Co-Education The Spirit of Womanhood 

MRS. LEAH CALKINS PEARSALL, '92 
"O woman ! lovely woman ! Nature made thee to temper man" 

Twenty Years After The Spirit of Progress 

JUSTICE GEORGE A. COOKE, '92* 
"Since I saw you last there's a change upon you" 



'Judge Cooke was unable to be present. At this point in the program a 
letter from the Knox Club of Log Angeles, Calif., was read by Mrs. Alta Marsh 
Phillips, class of '93. This club now has sixty-nine members representing 
twenty-seven different classes. 



200 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

MUSIC — KNOX GLEE CLUB 

Knox To-day: Past and Present . . . The Spirit of Loyalty 

JESSE CRAFTON, '12 

"I speak of the days that are" 

Willard Field The Athletic Spirit 

FRANaS H. SISSON. '92 
"It is poor sport that is not worth the candle" 

SONG — KNOX FIELD SONG 

[At the conclusion of the program an oil portrait of Dean 
Willard, painted by Miss Harriet Blackstone of Chicago (formerly 
of Galesburg), was unveiled and in the name of the class of 1912 
gracefully presented to the college by the class president, Mr. Carl 
Dunsworth.] 



GRADUATES IN ATTENDANCE 



201 



[As announced in the General Program, a Directory of Visit- 
ing and Resident Alumni and Representatives of Colleges and 
Universities, with their places of entertainment while in the city, 
was issued on Tuesday of Commencement week; it was not found 
possible to issue a second, revised edition later as had been planned. 
From this directory there has been compiled a corrected list of 
visiting and resident alumni, including all who registered during 
the week; unfortunately some failed to register and to that extent 
the list is incomplete. Where no place of residence is stated the 
person named is a Galesburg resident.] 



A LIST OF 

KNOX GRADUATES AND FORMER STUDENTS 

AND REPRESENTATH'ES OF OTHER INSTITUTIONS 
WHO WERE IN ATTENDANCE AT 

THE SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY 
OF THE COLLEGE 



1850 

Sanderson, Mrs. Ann Dunn 

1856 

Ferris, Mrs. Julia Helton 
Carthage. 

1857 

Gay, W. H. 
Quincy. 

1858 

Hennisee, Mrs. Mary Ford 
1859 

Scripps, Miss E. B. 
La Jolla, Calif. 

1860 

Merriman, Mrs. Mary McFar- 
land 
Chicago. 

1861 

Shaw, Cynthia Robbins 

Oneida. 
Smith, George C. 

St. Louis, Mo. 

1862 

Leffingwell, C. W. 
Pasadena, Calif. 



1863 

Arnold, Mrs. Ella Ferris 
Ayres, Mrs. Isabella Cothren 

Peoria. 
Birks, Maria M. 

Peoria. 
Marsh, Mary F. Ayers 

Normal. 

1864 

Latimer, J. F 
Abingdon. 

1865 

Dunlap, Mrs. Frances Willard 
Chicago. ' 

Edwards, Mrs. Celia White 

McKnight, Mrs. Mary J. Davis 

Wilson, John P. 
Chicago. 

1866 

Peck, B. S. 

Galva. 
Peck, George F. 
Watson, Miss Anna M. 

1867 

Hurlbut, Mrs. Sue Gould 
Tonopah, Nevada. 



202 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



1869 

Webster, Mrs. Martha Farnham 
1870 

Clark, Miss L. Elizabeth 
Cooke, Forrest F. 
Lowrie, Miss Annie 

1871 

Burton, Rev. Nathan L. 
Coffin, W. R. 

Eau Claire, Wis. 
Jenney, Miss Adeline Marietta 

1872 

Brown, Mrs. Maud Tenney 
Carr, Mrs. Grace Mills 
Fahnestock, Mrs. Grace Carr 
Gale, Miss Harriet 
Gilbert, John W. 
Lowrie, Mrs. Caroline Gale 
Tenney, Miss Helen I. 

1873 

Adams, Edward Q. 
Eddy, Mrs. Laura Wright 

Winthrop, Iowa. 
Hanna, Mrs. Ella Kreider 
Orton, Elizabeth S. 

1875 

Hoffman, Frank S., (ex. 75) 

Schenectady, N. Y. 
Lawrence, Mrs. Ella Park 
Lawrence, George A. 
Manny, Mrs. Carrie Dieterich 
McCall, Miss Ida M. 
Orton, Miss Sallie A. 

1877 

Carr, Miss Lillie E. 
Hague, Miss Frances 
Thompson, Mrs. Hettie Linsley 

1878 

Bancroft, Edgar A. 

Chicago. 
Jaynes, Mrs. Amy Reed 

LaFayette. 
Jelliff, Fred R. 

1879 

Allensworth, Mrs. Mina Wein- 
berg 
Blood, Miss M. Isabelle 
Colton, O. J. 



1880 

Craig, Dr. Harvey A. 
Holmes, Frank F. 

Chicago. 
Hurd, Miss Mary C. 

New York City. 
Kelsey, Kate Fargo 

Des Moines, Iowa. 
Musson, Mrs. Jennie Scott 

Champaign. 

1881 

Comstock, Clara E. 

Peoria. 
Goshen, Emma M. 

Farmington. 
Hammond, Fannie C. 

Oneida. 
Hill, John B. 

Kansas City, Mo. 
Parkinson, J. B, 

Broken Arrow, Okla. 
Scott, Miss Mary 

1882 

Anderson, Mrs. Mary Winn 

Williams 

Kewanee. 
Boggs, Miss Isabel A. 
Gill, Miss Ella C 

LaHarpe. 
Priestly, Mrs. Mabel Sisson 

Princeton. 
Sidway. Miss Jessie Mead 

Aurora. 
Stone, Miss Cora F. 
Wylie, Mr. and Mrs. John (An- 
nette Williams) 

Utica. 

1883 

Brainard, Mrs. Bertha Chambers 
Craw, Mrs. Mary A. McChesney 
Morgan, Henry H. (ex. '83) 
Chicago. 

1884 

Armstrong, Miss Nettie H. 
McMillan, Chas. 

Quincy. 
Matheny, Mrs. Delia Rice 
Morse, Marietta Lay 
Morse, Robert C. 

Kewanee. 




A PRAIRIE FARM 




iTk^y 



VIEW IN STANDISH PARK ADJOINING THE CAMPUS 



GRADUATES IN ATTENDANCE 



203 



Patch, Miss Myra H. 
Turner, Chester M. 

Cambridge. 
Whitney, W. H. 

Cleveland, Ohio. 
Wyckoff, C. T. 

Peoria. 

1885 

Eastes, Mrs. Augusta Wiswell 
Gale, Mrs. Georgia Smith 
Gaylord, Joseph A. 
Holmes, Miss Jessie R. 
Ryan, Mrs. Margaret McChes- 

ney 
Smith, Miss Minnie L. 
Tryon, Miss Louise J. 
Wetherbee, Mrs. Nellie Watkins 

1886 

Anderson, Fred H. 

Boydstun, Maud Smith 

Finley, Mrs. Martha Boyden 

(ex. '86) 

New York City. 
George, Miss Minnedelle 
McCandless, Mrs. Mary Sisson 

Davenport, Iowa. 
Ryan, Dr. L. R. 
Seymour, L. K. 

Payson. 
Smith, Mrs. Jessie Lawrence 

Quincy. 

1887 

Coudray, May Gilman 

Meeker, Colo. 
Finley, Dr. John H. 

New York City. 
Hammond, Miss E. May 
Hinckley, Miss Pluma E. 
Lay, Corliss W. 

Kewanee. 
Lee, Mrs. Eula Bates 

Marash, Turkey. 
Scott, Miss Clara 
Taggart, Mrs. Bertha Davis 

1888 

Campbell, Dr. Stuart M. 
Comstock, Clarence E. 

Peoria. 
Morley, Effie Whiting 

West Mentor, Ohio. 
Sargent, Mrs, Mary Bates 



Stephens, Mrs. Emma Sanford 

Lacon. 
Willis, Mrs. Alice J. Tilden 

1889 

Crane, Frank W. 

Quincy. 
Green, David F. 

Kansas City, Mo. 
Hinckley, William B. 

Hinsdale. 
Hurlbut, Mrs. Georgiana Wal- 

dron 

Sedalia, Mo. 
Pankey, Mrs. Anna N. Peterson 
Schwartz, Rev. Albert 
Stephens, Rev. Thadeus 

Lacon. 
Wolf, Mrs. Alice Stewart 

1890 

Arnold, Henry F. 

Burt, Mrs. Lola Maddox 

Oak Park. 
Cleaveland, Mrs. Olive Cox 

Rock Island. 
Green, Alvah S. 
Hoffman, Miss Grace 
Love, N. M. 

Peoria. 
Rogers, Frank G. 

1891 

Arnold, Mrs. Anna Ward 
Bergland, Albert E. 

Galva. 
Boutelle, Addison J, 
Chapman, Dr. Ada Hinckley 
Gushing, E. B. and wife 

Tiskilwa. 
Clark, Mrs. Frances Vineyard 
Caskey, W, G. and wife 

Oberlin, Ohio. 
Corbin, Mabel L. 

Macomb. 
Finch, Alida E. 
Francis, Mrs. Lizzie O'Neil (ex. 

'91). 

Camp Point. 
Hinckley, Arthur E. 
King, Edward J. 
King, Mrs. M!ary Roberts 
Montgomery, Hattie Newcomb 

Middle Grove. 
Perry, George A. 
Scott, Miss Martha 



204 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



Sovereign, Miss Lora 

Roseville. 
Tressler, N. W, 

Madison, Wis. 

1892 

Boult, Blanche M. 
Curtis, Mrs. Lida Giffen 

St. James, Minn. 
Davis, Ardella 

Chicago. 
Davis, Katherine 
Folger, Miss Sarah B. 
Montgomery, Mrs. Lunetta 

Chandler 

Aurora. 
Orendorff, Margaret R. May- 

nard (ex. '92) 

Canton. 
Palmer, Caroline 

New York City. 
Pearsall, Mrs. Leah Calkins 

Elgin. 
Samuels, Miss Lydia A. 
Stevens, Miss Alta Miller 
Weston, Hugh S. 

Peoria. 
Woelber, Mrs. Mary L. Cassidy 

New York City. 

1893 

Charlson, Jennie 
Elliott, Mrs. Grace Kay 

Payson. 
Gale, George C. 
Hinckley, Bessie Loomis 
Lind, Miss Johanna C. 

Glasgow, Mont. 
Miner, H. R. 

Adair. 
Palsgrovc, Mrs. Cora McCooI 
Phillips, Mrs. Alta Marsh 

Los Angeles, Calif. 
Stetson, Charlotte H. 

Princeton. 
Sturgeon, James Fleming 

El Paso. 

1894 

Arnold, Wilfred 
Butcher, Miss M. Zelle 

Chapin. 
Copp, Herbert G. (ex. '94) 

Rock Island. 
Guild, Roy B. 

Topeka, Kan. 
Hardy, A. K. 



Klosz, Mrs. Etha Butcher 

Bombay, India. 
McCool, Nellie H. 
Maley, Dr. William H. 
Moreland, John R. 
Ogden, Mrs. Alice Hogan 
Sanderson, Fred R. 
Shinn, Bertha 

Alpha. 
Walker, Mrs. Elizabeth Freer 
Wasson, James T. 

1895 

Corbin, Dr. J. F. 
Garrett, Mrs. Myra Boyd 

Oklahoma City, Okla. 
Hurburgh, Charles F. 
Kellogg, Mrs. Forrest Horrell 

Kewanee. 
Lindstrum, A. O. 
Maynard, Mrs. Margaret Mont- 
gomery 

Dallas, Texas. 
Moore, Mrs. Margaret Edgerton 

Houston, Texas. 
Moreland, Armor 
Pratt, Mrs. Josephine McReyn- 

olds 

Roseville. 
Sheldon, Mrs. Florence West 
Stevens, Mabel 
Strain, Mrs. Edith Kimball 

Omaha, Neb. 
Woods, Mrs. Frances Arnold 

1896 

Bassett, Bessie 

Aledo. 
Bridgeford, Mrs. MoUie Taylor 

Aledo. 
Cooke, Sarah Belle 

Aledo. 
Farley, Mrs. Mary Davis 

Chicago. 
Fuller, W. Stancliff 

La Grange. 
Hammond, Flora M. 
Losey, Mrs. Elizabeth Stevenson 
McCreery, Sarah N. 

Burlington, Iowa. 
Peterson, Fred 
Rich, Mrs. Lucy Babcock 
Shrimpton, Elizabeth 

Syracuse, N. Y. 



GRADUATES IN ATTENDANCE 



205 



Willard, Frank C. 

Tombstone, Ariz. 
Williamson, Fred L. 

Kansas City, Mo. 

1897 

Cushing, Royal B. and wife 

Chicago. 
Fitch, George 

Peoria. 
Folles, Mrs. Elizabeth Eurgens 

Chicago. 
Gibson, C. N. 

New Windsor. 
Hammond, Dr. J. Jay 
Hipsley, W. L. (ex. '97) 

Table Grove. 
Lass, Chas. F. 
McCandless, George T. 

Hutchinson, Kan. 
Stearns, Mrs. Mary Wertman 
Thompson, Presson W. 

Los Angeles, Calif. 
Wetmore, Mrs. Nellie Parmenter 
Whitney, Mrs. Jessie Losey 
Williams, Grace S. 

Baltimore, Md. 

1898 

Baker, Mrs. Margaret Miller 
Winnetka. 

Chase, Miss Zora E. 

Farnum, Mr. and Mrs. Charles 
Peoria. 

Gentry, J. O. 

Hall, Florence I. Nichols 
Freeport. 

Lindstrum, Mrs. Winifred 
Chaiser 

McFarland, F. O. 

Peterson, Loren M. 

Smith, Mrs. Nellie J. 

Swanson, I. Winfred 

Tunnicliff, Mrs. Ella B. Mc- 
Laughlin 

Walker, William M. 
Rock Island. 

1899 

Brennemann, Minnie S. 

Hopedale. 
Danskin, Lucy Hampton 

Minneapolis. 
Finley, Dr. Clyde 
Hunt, George F. 
Lancaster, W. Emery 

Quincy. 



McCandless, Mrs. Loraine Gay 

Hutchinson, Kan. 
Murdoch, Thomas D. 
Preston, Nannine W. 
Prutsman, Sibyl M. , 

Slattery, Margaret C. 
Stoneberg, Philip J, 

Bishop Hill. 
Stout, George A. 
Strain, Geo. M. 

Omaha, Neb. 
Switzer, Robert M. 
Wertman, M. Leorah 

1900 

Allen, Nettie 
Barr, Mary Winn 

Quincy. 
Dilworth, Mabel Cox 

Table Grove. 
Dilworth, T. S. 
Envall, Mary 
Felt, Albert L. 
Grabill, D. Quincy 

Evansville, Wis. 
Hagans, Corban B. 

Ipava. 
Holloway, Fred G. 
Illick, Martha Elda 

Burlington, Iowa. 
Irwin, Mrs. Nannie Ingersoll 

Red Oak, Iowa. 
Lundgren, Edward 
Main, Maude A. 
"Nash, R. C. 

Chicago. 
Nelson, Stella 

Williamsfield. 
Parkin, Edna Rex 
Parkin, Harry A. 

Chicago. 
Slocumb, Mrs. E. C. 

Artesia, New Mexico. 
Stellwagen, Elizabeth Snyder 

St. Louis, Mo. 
Stone, Mrs. Elsa Ertel 

Quincy. 
Willis, Arthur W. 

1901 
Clark, W. C. 

Buda. 
Hammond, Theodore A. 
Johnson, Mrs. Miriam Bergland 
Krotter, Nellie M. 

Knoxville. 



206 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



Lake, Margaret Morse 

Shenandoah, Iowa. 
Leard, Laura and sister 

Prairie City. 
Love, Elizabeth M. 

Knoxville. 
Maley, Mrs. Clara Forrester 
Manning, E. T., M. D. 

Omaha, Neb. 
Parmenter, Robert O. 

Knoxville. 
Tate, Louis N., M. D. 

Brimfield. 
Van Cleave, Mina 

Knoxville. 
Webster, Daniel 

Davenport, low^a. 

1902 

Avery, G. Luzerne 

Peoria. 
Arnold, Ray M. 
Armstrong, Mary J, 
Barr, Russell T. 

Quincy. 
Caldwell, W. H. 
Dalrymple, J. and wife 

Reading, Mich. 
Gilmore, Newton R. 

Chicago. 
Glidden, Mrs. Fannie Hurff 

Kewanee. 
Hitchcock, Samuel 

Hope, N. D. 
Hughes, Minnie E. Stevenson 

Omaha, Neb. 
Johnson, Jessie Van Clute 

Los Angeles, Calif. 
Joy, Mrs. Laura Richards 

Greenville. 
Knowles, Laura 

Rushville. 
Moreland, Mrs. Josephine Cool- 
Peterson, E. F. 

New Windsor. 
Spangler, Mrs. Madge Barnes 

Washburn. 
St. John, Mrs. May Cooper 

Chicago. 
Stickell, Mrs. Daisy Lawrence 

Knoxville. 
Thomson, Vera B. 

Los Angeles, Calif. 
Willard, Florence E. 

Topeka, Kan. 

idge 



Barry, Mrs. Elizabeth Root 
Drake, Mrs. Mamie Selleck 
Elwood, Miss Lillian 
Hopkins, C. Charles 
Willard, Miss Alice 

1903 

Bone, Gratia Hyde 
Prairie City. 

Brown, Curtis H. 

Delavan, Mrs. Ethlyn Pine 

Ewing, Dr. Fred 

Green, Allen Ayrault 

Hinchliflf, Everett E. 

Lapham, Gail H. 

McLaughlin, Mrs. Helen Fergu- 
son 

Shutts, Daniel 
Sedalia, Mo. 

Whipple, Walter W. 

1904 

Felt, S. W. 

Goodsill, A. Clair 

Hardy, Mrs. Norma Wertman 

Piatt, Roy L. 

Terry, W. E., Jr. 

1905 
Burton, Jessie R. 
Chase, Ralph 

Knoxville. 
Clearwater, Cornelia Mosher 

Oneida. 
Edgerton, Erastus 
Frank, Mrs. Irene Olson 
Holmes, Jessie R. 
Junod, Chas. L. 
Lass, Edith 
Lowrie, Alice 
McClelland, Kellogg D. 
Rogers, Ella T. 
Sigsbee, Ray A. 
Sharp, Florence 

Scott's BluflF, Neb. 
Stanford, Dorothy Inness 

Chatsworth. 
Zetterberg, Arvid P. 

1906 

Arnold, Harriett 
Hall, Wallace S. 
Woburn, Mass. 
Jelliff, Richard F. 
Lass, Henry W. 
Maley, Fred L. 
Maley, Dr. George E. 



GRADUATES IN ATTENDANCE 



207 



Mars, Mary- 
Olson, Mae 

Granville. 
Patton, James M. 

Dahinda. 

1907 

Alden, Blanche H. 

Shenandoah, Iowa. 
Byram, Zella M. 
Giddings, Mr. and Mrs. Corwin 

Rockford. 
Graham, Hamill R. 

Denver. 
Hanna, Ruth 

Milw^aukee, Wis. 
Harper, J. Frank 

Moline. 
Harrison, Leslie 

Knoxville. 
Hilding, John W. 

Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Lampe, William B. 

Shelby, Iowa. 
Lowrie, S. Gale 

Madison, Wis. 
Orcutt, Albert 

Areola. 
Sapp, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond 

Wyanet. 
Seacord, Marie 
West, Bessie A. 

Chicago. 

1908 

Avery, Harriette 
Carlton, W. B. 
Griswold, Mary Augusta 

Princeton. 
Ingersoll, Roy C. 
Ingersoll, Mrs. Lulu Hinchliff 
Johnson, Alice A. 
Johnston, Winifred L. 
Ladd, Harry P. 

Kewanee. 
McKee, Jean 
McKeighan, Laura M. 

Toulon. 
Orcutt, Edith Greene (ex. '08) 

Areola. 
Walker, Pearl Anna 

1909 

Avery, Mrs. Miriam Hunter 

Peoria. 
Ballans, Anna M. 

Neponset. 



Coad, Oral S. 

Delaware, Ohio. 
Dilworth, Anna Lee 

Table Grove. 
Inness, Lucy Mabel 
Jacobson, Helen C. 

Chicago. 
McBride, Louise 

Burlington, Iowa. 
McClelland, Bruce C. 
McLaughlin, Maud 
Montgomery, Martha P. 

Rock Island. 
Mooney, Jessie M. 

Hamilton, Mo. 
Page, Edith 
Pendleton, Ella 

Augusta. 
Ramp, Florence B. 

Knoxville. 
Rhodes, Letitia C. 
Rice, Mary (ex. '09) 

Lewistown. 
Weaver, Mrs. Grace Allen 
Woolsey, Robt. C. 

Chicago. 

1910 

Aldrich, Harry G. 
Bridge. Earl R. 
Callihan, Tressler William 
Diehl, Ruth 

Ipava. 
Bailey, Fern 

Marceline, Mo. 
Flynn, Con C. 
Gates, M. Ethel 
Goodsill, Inez V. 
Graham, Irving M. 

Carthage. 
Graham, Katherine E. 

Aurora. 
Johnston, Margaret 

Burnt Prairie. 
Kline, Flora A. 

Galva. 
Lampe, Mrs. Estelle Avery 

Shelby, Iowa. 
Lillie, L. F. 

Freeport. 
McCollum, Lavonna Margaret 
McKee, Mrs. Flo Bethard 
Nelson, Eily Edmond 

Vermont. 
Nelson, Sigvard 

Wataga. 



206 



SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 



Peterson, Herbert E. 

Alpha. 
Smith, Harry L. 

Albion, Idaho. 
Spinner, Delia G. 
Swanson, Mr. and Mrs. R. May- 

nard 

Roseville. 
Trouslot, Marie L. 

Prairie City. 
Trump, Vera G. 

Frankfort, Kan. 
Wells, Helen B. 

Galva. 
White, Edna B. 
White, Ruby M. 

1911 

Carley, Alice M. 
Donichy, Mary M. 
Drake, Lucy E. 

Detroit, Mich. 
Dunn, Charles F. 

Lebanon, Mo. 
Dupuis, Dollie J. 

Savanna. 



Felt, Margaret 

Galpin, Stella B. 

Hazen, Mrs. Haroldine Ives 

Hedgecock, A, J, 

Plymouth. 
Jordan, J. N. 

Centerton, Ark. 
Keefer, Marie V. 

Sterling. 
Kerman, Geo. B. 

Macomb. 
Kornwebel, Augusta 
Larson, Harriet G. 
Latimer, W. Leslie 
Lawton, Howard M. 

Plymouth. 
Lewis, Mary 
McGowan, R. Ellen 
Peters, William W. 
Peterson, Alvah 
Randall, Winifred L. 
Strickland, Abbie C. 
Tanabe, Stetfan 
Tipple, E. Ruth 

Payson. 
Vanderburgh, Grace L. 



OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVES OF COLLEGES AND 
UNIVERSITIES. 



Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 

Honorable Frank Hamlin. 
Yale University, New Haven, Conn., 

George Shipman Payson. 

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 

Edgar D. Wing, M. D. 
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 

Prof. A. P. Carman. 

Columbia University, New York, N. Y., 

Mr. Victor Elting. 
Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 

Prof. Graham Taylor, D. D., LL. D. 
The University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., 

President J. A. Marquis. 
University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt., 

Prof. George Henry Perkins, LL, D., Ph. D. 
Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., 

Prof. Francis Hoffman. 
Auburn Theological Seminary, Auburn, New York, 

Rev. Hugh Jack, D. D. 



OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVES 209 

Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 

Prof. John Henry McMillan. 
Norwich University, Northtield, Vermont, 

Dr. J. V. N. Standish. 
Western Reserve University, Adelbert College, Cleveland, Ohio, 

Dr. William Carver Williams. 
Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., 

Mr. Lucien F. Sennett. 
Western Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pa., 

Rev, Hugh T. Kerr, D. D. 
Illinois College, Jacksonville, 111., 

President Charles H. Rammelkamp. 
McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, 111., 

Rev. J. Gibson Lowrie, D. D. 
Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, 

Prof. William George Caskey. 

Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio, 
Mr. C. B. Beach. 

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 
Prof. Arthur Graves Canfield. 

Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass., 

Mrs. Edward D. Gaylord. 
Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, 

Prof. Francis Marion Austin. 

Beloit College, Beloit, Wis., 

President Edward D. Eaton. 
College of the City of New York, New York, N. Y., 

President John H. Finley. 

University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis., 

Prof. George C. Comstock. 
University of Rochester, Rochester, N. Y. 

Prof. George T. Sellew. 
Northwestern University, Evanston, 111., 

Prof. Herbert Eugene Griffith. 
Tufts College, Tufts College, Mass., '' 

Prof. P. F. Wright. 
Wheaton College, Wheaton, 111., 

President Charles A. Blanchard. 
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa., 

Superintendent F. G. Blair. 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass., 

Mr. Richard E. Schmidt. 
Washburn College, Topeka, Kan., 

Miss Florence Willard. 
Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn., 

Prof. W. G. Waterman. 
Talladega College, Talladega, Alabama, 

Prof. Wallace Hall. 
University of Illinois, Urbana, 111., 

Prof. Edward C. Hayes. 



210 SEVENTY-FIVE SIGNIFICANT YEARS 

Carthage College, Carthage, 111., 

President H. D. Hoover. 
Park College, Parkville, Mo., 

Prof. Merlin C. Findlay. 
Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, 111., 

President John S. NoUen. 
Case School of Applied Science, Cleveland, Ohio, 

President Charles Sumner Howe. 
Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 

President J. A. Marquis. 
Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama, 

Principal Booker T. Washington. 
University of South Dakota, Vermillion, S. Dak., 

President F. B. Gault. 
Clark University, Worcester, Mass., 

Prof. Raymond K. Morley. 
Pomona College, Claremont, Calif., 

Prof. Francis Harding White. 
Barnard College, New York City, N. Y., 

Mr. Victor Elting. 
University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, 

S. G. Paterson, Ph. D. 
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, New 
York, N. Y., 

Mr. Clyde Furst, Secretary. 
William and Vashti College, Aledo, 111., 

President Frank C. English. 






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